Rider Musume
by Ten-Faced Paladin
Summary: The world has changed and monsters now live among us. Still, a new breed of kaijin has risen to try and take the world as their own. A Kamen Rider will rise to fight them, but can a Kamen Rider really call himself a warrior of justice when the laws forbid anyone from so much as harming a monster now? Crossover with Monster Musume!
1. Learning about Liminals

**Kamen Rider Musume (or Everyday Life with a Kamen Rider)**

I do not own Kamen Rider Drive or Monster Musume. Those belong to Toei and Okayado. I am not making any sort of profit off of this idea and am only writing it for fun. If you have a problem with this then please move along and find something else while others get the chance to see the story. Thank you everyone for showing this new idea some support.

 **Rider Musume**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 1: Learning About Liminals**

*BREET! BREET BREET!*

A shrill beeping came from the alarm clock situated next to an average bed which made the occupant mumble in discontent before he snaked a hand out from the covers and hit the button to shut it down. There was more mumbling before the occupant yawned and sat up. He appeared to be a twenty-something with black hair and rather plain features. Still mumbling, he got out of bed, wearing boxers and an undershirt before he quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt which had a squared marked _Ad Space_ on the front.

His name was Kurusu Kimihito, a Freeter for the time being, someone who worked haphazardly at part-time jobs to make money. At the moment he didn't have much direction in his life beyond a few goals he set for himself. They were important goals, but

ones he intended to take care of in due time.

*VROOM!*

Kurusu looked down to see a small toy car, bright red with a spoiler, tinted windows, and a pair of white stripes on the front zoom into his room before honking.

"Morning Jii-san," Kurusu yawned, fighting the last of his short on. "I'll see you downstairs."

*Beep! Beep!* the tiny car replied before zooming off.

Yawning, Kurusu headed to the ground floor of his home to get some breakfast. Waiting for him was what appeared to be a red tower which had a thin top and mounted on it was a silver device which looked like the front of a high-class car with speedometers where the hood ornament would be. The centre dial was a black screen with red LED lighting making up a plate-like mouth and two large eyes.

"Good morning Kurusu," the red machine greeted warmly. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," Kurusu scratched his head. "Any updates?"

"I'm afraid not," the machine answered, it's 'eyes' closing in disappointment. "The Roidmudes have gone silent lately and if they are not using their Heavy Acceleration or even in their true forms than we cannot track them."

"Yeah, I remember," Kurusu yawned, moving to get his breakfast while turning on the television. As he went for the cereal, the screen turned on to reveal eight beautiful girls who all sported inhuman features like rabbit or mouse ears.

" _And that was ANM48 with their new song, Everyday Animal Ears! These girls have been a blast in the music business and every one of their top songs have been skyrocketing to the number one spot in all the charts! What also makes them so notable however, is that this is the first singing group which is composed completely of Liminals! So not only are they amazing singers, but they're history makers too!_ "

"Hm. Imagine that," Kurusu mumbled, moving to sit at the table. "Say, Jii-san, do you think the reason the Roidmudes have been laying low lately is because of the Treaty?"

"Hm. Possibly, but I don't think they'd really care for it," the robot commented.

The Treaty, was in fact the Inter-Species Cultural Exchange Accord. It was written up three years ago when it was decided to reveal the existence of non-human species like the Centaurs, Lamias, and Harpies. Monster Girls, or Liminals if one wanted to be politically correct. It was an agreement which would help the Liminals gradually become integrated into human society where they could fit in with everyone else. Granted there were a few bumps in the road, like with people who feared them because of their species' reputations or the few aggressive breeds that liked to attack humans, but so far it was a surprisingly easy integration. Recently there was even a homestay program which allowed select families to take in a Liminal volunteer so that they could get the full experience of the human world instead. It was a big deal, so the government was keeping a close eye on things.

"Maybe since the government is being so close to the people, that's why they're laying low," Kurusu suggested. "They don't want the wrong sort of attention on them just yet. Not when they haven't gotten to that perfectly evolved state that they're aiming for."

"Hmm," the robot 'nodded'. "That might be the case."

"Something to look into," Kurusu nodded, munching on his cereal. "Anyway, I've got the day off for a change and if none of the Shift Cars report in, I'm just going to veg out and play some games all day."

"Those things will rot your brain," the robot huffed as Kurusu ate.

"Not as quick as a Roidmude will crush my body," the young man retorted.

"True, true."

Kurusu finished his cereal and moved for the Wii so he could begin his day of veging out. Sitting down in his favorite beanbag chair and grabbing the controls, he let the TV light up to begin his gaming experience. It was one of the benefits of living by himself while his parents were overseas. They asked him to look after the house while they were gone. At first it was fine, but then his grandfather showed up…but not the way the Kurusu remembered him, which lead to the Roidmudes…and the Destiny Shift.

*DING-DONG!*

Kurusu sighed and stood up, "If that is a salesman then I am going to flip." He headed to the door and after checking to make sure that the red robot or any tiny cars weren't running around, opened it to see who was calling.

On the other side was a woman who looked to be the government agent type. She wore a black suit with a pencil skirt and had black glasses covering her eyes. She also had long black hair which parted at her forehead and framed her face. She seemed professional enough, but her presence alone made Kurusu want to gulp since he got up to some stuff in his spare time that the government likely wouldn't be too fond of with the current political landscape.

The person with her though was a bit of a surprise. She was a girl, likely close to Kurusu's age. She had long red hair which reached down her back and had golden slit eyes. Up in her hair were a pair of yellow D-shaped hair ornaments which were quite noticeable. Her ears were bright red and pointed, indicating a non-human status along with the red scales which framed her jaw. Her torso was human, sporting a cute tank top with a denim jacket and a regular skirt. From the waist down though, she did not have legs but instead had a long serpentine tail which was seven metres long at least. She was definitely cute, although she seemed rather nervous. Next to her was a carry along suitcase standing upright. There was no mistaking her as a Lamia, the all-female tribe of snake people known for appearing in deserts.

What the heck was one doing with a government agent at his house?

"Uh…can I help you?"

"Didn't you check the date?" the government woman smiled. "It's the day that Miia-chan here is supposed to move in with you as part of the homestay program."

"I-It's nice to meet you," the Lamia, apparently named Miia, bowed shyly.

Kurusu blinked. He then blinked again. Shaking his head he grimaced, "I'm…sorry?"

"Don't worry! We all slip up!" the agent smiled before she slipped out her I-phone and hit a command. "Okay guys! Move in and let's make this place ship shape for Miia-chan!"

"Huh?" Kurusu gaped before a horde of burly men, contractors from the looks of them, stormed the street before marching like a bunch of soldiers. He gave off a yelp as they stormed the house before they immediately set to work and began tearing down walls and doors. "AHHHH!"

"Oh relax," the agent huffed as she approached with Miia. "We just need to renovate a little so Miia-chan can move about and use the facilities without any problems."

"BUT I'M NOT PART OF THE HOMESTAY PROGRAM! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!" Kurusu cried out in horror. Looking back into the house, he saw a pair of the contractors looking over the door leading to the basement in comparison to the blueprints to the house. "HEY! NO! NO TOUCHING THE BASEMENT!"

"You didn't sign up?" the agent lifted her eyebrow and tilted her glasses down. Reaching into her jacket she produced an official form. "No, you did. Says right here. The address is XXXX-XXX-XXXX."

"Huh? No!" Kurusu cried, marching over and pointing at the mailbox where the postal box was located. "This is XXOO-XXXX-XXYY! You're on the other side of the neighbourhood! You got the wrong place!"

The agent and the Lamia blinked before the human woman looked back down to her paperwork. Frowning, she seemed to think about her situation for a moment. After that, one of the contractors came out of the house and saluted to the woman while the rest of his team marched out. They talked in hushed words before the man left and the woman turned to smile at Kurusu.

"Well, my guys say the work's already done and it would kind of be a hassle to send Miia-chan over to the other side of the neighbourhood when this place is already so suited for her needs," the agent grinned. "So…let's have her stay with you okay? I'll fix the paperwork. So you two get along now!" she then waved and darted off to a black van which revved up and raced off into the night.

Kurusu and Miia both blinked as the woman left, but for entirely different reasons. For Miia, she was a little curious over all of the excitement going on while Kurusu was stunned at the sheer irresponsibility which a supposed government official had just showed by dumping the poor girl into his hands simply because she didn't want to do paperwork or something.

"U-um," Miia began, fiddling with her fingers. "S-sorry for the inconvenience."

"Huh?" Kurusu blinked, but then gasped as he remembered that he had a guest. "Oh! No, no, no! It's not your fault. Just…who was that woman?"

"She's my Interspecies Cultural Exchange Coordinator, Agent Smith," Miia explained. "She's responsible for my case and all that. She gave me a card so I can call her if something comes up. Maybe you could…get some details from her?"

Kurusu sighed. Somehow he figured even if he did try to call this Agent Smith, he'd probably get her voicemail or something and she'd never call him back. He was basically on his own with the government screw up on his hands. This was the last thing he wanted to have happen to him, especially with the things he and his grandfather did under the radar!

"Well, no helping it then," Kurusu sighed, scratching his head. Looking to Miia, he smiled, "So why don't you come in and I can make us some tea?"

"I'd like that," Miia smiled cutely.

Kurusu picked up Miia's suitcase and the pair entered the house. The young man had to blink when he saw that his house had been renovated completely. The hallways had all been expanded and likewise the doors had been as well to at least twice their size. Easily enough for Miia to fit through without any troubles, even with her large tail. He had to blink at the sheer efficiency of the government contractors.

"Government taxes at work," Kurusu huffed before he stepped aside to let Miia into the house. A shame they couldn't get their agents to be as good as the resources they bought. "Well, I'll show you to the sitting room so make yourself comfortable, okay?"

"Okay," Miia nodded.

Kurusu brought the Lamia to the traditional sitting room where Miia coiled up to sit down. Kurusu went off to the kitchen to find tea while the redhead waited. After a few moments, she heard a mechanical vrooming noise. Turning, she blinked when she saw what looked like a tall red box with a silver device on the top roll into the room.

"Well, hello there," the red face on the device 'blinked', rolling into the room. "Who might you be?"

"Um…" Miia couldn't help but stare. It was downright strange to her even though she was a Lamia. "I'm Miia. Who…wha…um…who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me," the machine chuckled with a 'smile'. He wheeled up to a side of the table so he could talk. "I am called the Drive Driver. This is a mobile device which I use to get around when Kurusu isn't able to pick me up. However did a Lamia find her way here though?"

"I'm part of the homestay program," Miia answered. "This is going to be my home while I learn about the human world and become part of it."

"The homestay program?" Drive Driver 'blinked' in confusion. "I don't recall Kurusu signing up for that program or government inspectors interviewing him to make sure he was appropriate."

Miia hummed in thought, "Well, he kept saying to my coordinator that he didn't sign up for the program, but I don't think she was paying attention and set up the house for me anyway."

"So that's what all the commotion was about," Driver 'sighed'. "My goodness, how can such sloppy agents work in such an important program?"

Kurusu chose that moment to return with the tea, setting down the teakettle and cups before filling them for himself and Miia. Once the two cups were filled, Kurusu sat himself down and felt a bit of tension enter the room. He had no idea what to say to Miia since her appearance was kind of a surprise. Miia herself seemed particularly shy and was just silent. Driver just looked to both of them before looking back to Miia.

"So, Miia-chan, since we're all roommates now I hope this isn't too uncomfortable for you," he offered.

"Well, it's been an adventure," Miia smiled weakly. "I've never left my village before so this has all been pretty new to me. I think Ms. Smith called it culture shock or something. Still, so far everyone's been really nice to me."

"Well that's good," Kurusu smiled. He then noticed that Miia was absently shivering and was rubbing her arms repeatedly to try and warm up a little. "Um…are you cold or something?"

"A little," Miia shivered. "Lamias are cold-blooded so we're really sensitive to temperatures. If it gets too cold I get all sleepy and can't get going."

"Oh! Oh shoot!" Kurusu hopped to his feet. He didn't even think if a Lamia was warm or cold-blooded! "It's been a little cool recently but we didn't think anything of it. Lemme just grab some blankets for you, okay?"

"Ah?" Miia blinked as Kurusu jumped from the room to get what the Lamia needed.

"He's a good boy," Driver chuckled as he watched Kurusu go. "You have nothing to worry about with him on the case Miia-chan."

Kurusu came back into the room with a pair of large and obviously thick blankets. Coming over to where Miia was curled up, he began draping blankets across her tail so she could warm up, "Sorry about all this. I turned up the heat so I hope this'll help until it warms up," he gave an apologetic grin. "I wasn't expecting to have a Lamia for company. Once it warms up it should be a bit more comfortable for you."

Miia blinked, and blushed slightly as Kurusu finished draping the last of the blankets over her exposed tail. Seeing that the exposed portions of her tail were now warmly covered, Kurusu went back to his side of the table with a grin, "So, how about we talk about ourselves a little? If we're going to be living together for the next while anyway."

"O-okay!" Miia smiled, her cheeks a rosy red.

* * *

The day wore on as Miia, Kurusu, and Driver got to know one another. Miia admitted that she had come from a tribe of all women so she wasn't too used to dealing with men. Kurusu took it slow with her, knowing she was shy and he didn't want to scare her or make her feel unwelcome considering how much of an inconvenience Agent Smith dumped on the both of them. Driver just seemed to take it all in stride and considered Miia to be a charming change to the norm which was the two bachelors' lives.

Eventually they helped Miia unpack into one of the new guest rooms which were located, one of many new guestrooms which the government contractors put in. Fortunately Miia packed lightly and soon her room was settled, which included a personal heater just in case things got a little too cold for her liking. When Miia seemed pleased with the arrangement, Kurusu left her to get over her jetlag while he did some work in the basement.

"Whew," He sighed as he and Driver headed for the basement door. "Man, cute as she is this is just going to make things more complicated."

"Indeed, but considering your already _bursting_ social life I think she might be a good influence around the house," Driver replied. "A lady's touch if you will."

Kurusu sweatdropped at the comment, looking to the machine, "Sometimes I wonder if you really are my grandpa and not some fusion with a playboy program somewhere." His sweatdrop grew heavier when Driver only chuckled.

Shaking his head, Kurusu opened the door to his basement before he grabbed Driver and gave a yank, revealing that the silver device was detachable and had a red strap which helped keep it connected to its mobile unit. Strapping Driver to his waist, Kurusu headed down to the basement before hitting a light switch which caused the entire area to light up.

The entire area was painted green and white like out of a professional mechanic's dream garage. Monitors and large toolboxes were lining walls, made for taking care of a high tech machine. At the far end of the garage was a lowered metal door with a circular emblem with an R inside of it looking like some kind of hood ornament. In the centre of it all was a royal red sports car which had a pointed front with white stripes running over the entire length of the car. The spoiler at the back was slightly odd over the high tech and style of the car, both sides of it being mounted with extra tires.

"Any of the guys come back with data yet?" asked Kurusu, walking to one of the computers.

"As a matter of fact-!" Driver began…

*BEEP! BEEP!*

Kurusu turned when coming in from under the garage door were three lengths of tiny highway began assembling themselves before rising up into the air. They curved through the air before coming up to the table the computers were a small parking lot rose up with a highway sign over it marked 'welcome home'.

"Hey, Flare, Spike, Shadow, welcome back guys!" Kurusu grinned.

From the garage three tiny cars drove through the highways, coming up to the table before coming to a gentle stop. Each of the three gave off tiny beeps, revving on the spot as if in pleasure. The first of the three looked like a bright orange hot rod with red fire designs on it. The second was a bright green car with purple headlights and windshield with its body covered completely with spikes. The last was a deep purple car with yellow slash-like headlights and matching marks on its windshield.

"Welcome back, all of you," Driver greeted with a 'smile'. "Any new information to report?"

Flare beeped and opened up another highway which connected to a computer. The machine came to life and began flipping through multiple windows before Drive's face flashed.

"Hmm, I see," Driver pondered before a holographic screen lit up from the headlights underneath his face, opening to several pictures of Liminal girls victimized by something and being helped by specially trained medics and government officials. All of them were some of the more intimidating species like Minotaurs, Ogres, and even some like Golems. Their bodies were an alarming pale shade and they couldn't move. Other beings around them were unfortunately the opposite, a dangerous shade of red and in obvious pain.

"So we were right," Kurusu frowned. "The Roidmudes have begun attacking Liminals for their data and physical qualities."

"It seems so," Driver agreed. "So far the witnesses who were able to remain conscious reported that there was indeed a Heavy Acceleration event at each of the events. They seemed unable to identify who or what their attacker was though."

"A pattern?" asked Kurusu, looking over each picture with a grimace.

"Other than the fact that the main targets seem to be dangerous Liminal breeds, none," Driver replied, checking reports that went with the images. "Although all of them are expected to recover, none of the events seem to have much in common."

"Hmm," Kurusu frowned, pondering the information. "Well, since the Roidmudes are going for dangerous Liminals, maybe we can try and track down where such Liminals might live and stake out the area to catch it in the act?"

"Unlikely," Driver denied. "The records detailing where all homestay representatives are recorded are secured by the highest firewalls and are constantly monitored both in data and hard copies. Our technology is geared more towards hardware rather than software."

"So no-go for us then," Kurusu pondered. "But…would that stop a Roidmude?"

Driver was silent before answering, "No. Either an intelligent one will try to sneak in to access those files or a particularly stupid one will barge in and try to steal them."

"Okay, so where was the last attack?" Kurusu asked, glancing over his shoulder at the three tiny cars.

Shadow beeped and drove over to the computer which Flare quickly evacuated before letting the purple car take its spot. More information passed through the screen before Driver created a new hologram screen. This one depicted a map of the city, several red dots all in a convoluted line.

"According to the data, the last attack was just outside the district and moving east," Driver reported.

"Meaning the next one will likely be inside the district," Kurusu frowned. "So either he already has the information he needs, or else he'll go to the place which has the data."

"The government's census offices," Driver agreed, making a green dot light up on the map. "A detailed listing of everyone in the district, both human and Liminal."

"Okay! Let's go!" Kusuru nodded, looking to the three cars. "Flare, Spike, Shadow, let's roll!" Approaching another toolbox, Kusuru removed a silver plate which looked like it had three indentations for something that he attached to the right side of his belt. The three tiny cars generated three highways for themselves which twisted through the air towards the young man. The cars drove on it before leaping off and locking into place, one in each slot.

"Ikuzo Kurusu!" Driver called.

Kurusu nodded before he dashed to his car, dropping into the driver's side before strapping himself in like a professional racer would. Once in, he hit the ignition and let the car, his Toridoron, roar to life. The garage door then lifted by remote, allowing the supercharged machine to race out of the garage. Following the tunnel, the machine came out of an alleyway between two stores before it closed up behind them, revealing a supposedly blocked off wall between the two as the red car raced down the street.

* * *

In her room, Miia snuggled into her pillow with a sigh and a smile, giggling every so often as she dreamed. "Oooooh, Darling…zzzzzzz."

The roar of the engine in the distance didn't even cause her to roll over.

* * *

The Tridoron raced down the quieting streets, making sharp turns as it even took back streets in order to make it to its destination without taking too much time. Coming out onto the main highway, it roared through traffic, just skirting the line of breaking several speeding laws before finally hitting an off ramp and letting the remaining drivers breathe easy. Several more turns brought it down to the business district where many offices were located. Legal, personal, business, and governmental buildings were all there.

The Tridoron pulled into the empty parking lot of an official looking building bearing the emblem of the Japanese government on a sigh, marking it as one of the country's official offices. The building was silent, which could have been good or bad. Almost stealthily, the Tridoron pulled into a parking space which directly faced the building.

"Quiet," Driver commented.

"Either we're early, way too late, or in the wrong place entirely," Kurusu frowned, leaning on the steering wheel. "Lights aren't on so likely only security guys are the only ones there."

"Then we will have to be patient if we want to be sure," Driver commented.

As Kurusu settled in for a long night of playing watchdog, a pulse suddenly shot over the area originating from inside of the building. All around them, everything seemed to…slow down to a small fraction of the pace that it had before. Crickets giving off quick chirps suddenly gave off drawn-out bleats. Birds that were startled by the pulse attempted to escape, but lifted into the air at a tortuous pace. Even the elements didn't escape as a decorative fountain expelled water in slow motion, making each individual drop become identifiable.

After the pulse hit, a slow motion explosion erupted from the front of the government offices. The glass doors and stone walls cracked at a slow pace before flames licked through and all of the pieces began to fly away like they were floating in molasses.

The only one not affected was Kurusu himself.

"Aw crap!" he groaned, moving and speaking at the normal rate as he pulled himself out of his car. "Looks like we were right."

"Indeed," Driver agreed. "Let's go Kurusu!"

Kurusu nodded before he pulled what looked like a red bracer from his pocket, mounted with a silver device which had a hollow in it much like the ones which his three small cars were inserted into, only empty. Strapping it to his wrist, he dashed towards the slowly exploding government building, swatting small pieces of debris out of his way as he wet. Coming to the front of the expanding flames, he tried to peer through the slow fire so he could see what had caused it.

He got his answer as three figures emerged from the slow blaze.

They were humanoid, but there was no way one could mistake them as being human, Each of them had bodies covered in dark steel, making them look rather machine-like in their appearances. Their heads on the other hand looked like skulls, each with a different mouthpiece and decoration on them. Planted on their chests were a plate, each one marked with a different number. The one leading the group was 034 whose torso armor was segmented like the belly of a snake and his thighs and arms designed to look like snake scales. Covering the nose and mouth of the skull was a metal faceplate which looked like a snake's mouth ready to strike. Planted on either side of its head were metal adornments which looked like a cobra's hood.

The second of the group was numbered 060 and its torso had several tubes, extending from its chestplate, giving the faint similarity to a spider or its web. More metal tubes wrapped around its neck like a brace while its arms and legs layered plating, like an exoskeleton. Lastly its face was mostly covered by a plate which was designed to look like spider mandibles, intimidating in itself.

The last of the trio was marked 088 and its torso armor looked like steel leathery wings extending to make the suit. The arms and legs seemed to have metal wings elegantly wrapped around them like a group of bats had settled on them. This creature's face was concealed by a metal plate which looked like a bat's mouth and nose while large yellow ear-like protrusions were mounted near its eyes, making it seem all the more bat-like.

It was the snake robot which noticed Kurusu first, waving flames out from his face, "Eh? Who's this pipsqueak?"

"He's he able to get around the slowdown?" asked the spider machine.

Kurusu lifted his arm, revealing his brace as he spoke, "The guy who's going to bring down all one hundred and eight of you scrap heaps!"

The bat robot seemed to actually become intimidated by the gesture, or rather what Kurusu had strapped to his body, "That's-!"

Kurusu quickly reached down to Driver before taking hold of an ignition key on the side and giving it a twist. A sound like a high performance car revving up began to sound before Driver's voice rang out in a loud and deep tone.

" **START YOUR ENGINES!"**

*BEEP! BEEP!*

A tiny highway rose from the ground before a tiny red sports car race up it and jumped from it into Kurusu's right hand. Lifting it up, he flicked its back end to have it spin around, revealing an S-like emblem on the bottom. Holding the machine, he cried out, "Henshin!"

Taking the car, he inserted it into his brace, making the machine look like a tiny handle before he gripped the back end and pushed, showing the tiny care had indeed become a lever. The front of the brace flashed before another roar of an engine Driver sounded off, the emblem appearing on his screen.

" **DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!"**

Kurusu was enveloped in a red cylinder of light as parts of a high tech suit of armor began to materialize and attach to his body. Once the entire suit was completed, there was a roar like a speeding race car which sounded off as the suit flashed, becoming solid. Driver was still around his waist, but now he was donned in a black bodysuit. His torso armor was cherry red like his car, polished to perfection save for a black indentation across his chest which ran from his left shoulder to under his right arm. His shoulder plates looked similar to spoilers. His forearms and shins were adorned in polished red gauntlets and greaves, the brace still on his left wrist prominently. His helmet was mostly red with a silver mouthplate and a large visor that looked almost like headlights. They were nearly split by the triangular forehead, making them look like eyes. Said forehead was decorated like the front of a sports car with a pair of white stripes running down the middle and the emblem from the garage door in the centre. Rising from the top of his head was a spoiler like a sports car, completing the ensemble.

Back with the Tridoron, the front left wheel sank into the machine while the portion of the hood in front of it retracted. Suddenly, a rubber street wheel with the words TYPE SPEED imprinted on the side and a red line down the middle emerged and like in a pinball game, the car's wheel shot it out. Rather than fall over, the wheel spun through the air before colliding with Kurusu's chest, filling the black indentation and allowing the armor to fully activate.

"Kamen Rider?!" the three robots gasped out.

"That's right Roidmudes," the armored Kurusu nodded, taking a stance. "Kamen Rider Drive! Now, let's go for a ride!"

The three robots stepped back, obviously intimidated before the Spider Roidmude stepped forward, "You guys have the data! Go! We need those Liminal qualities now!"

"Right!" the Cobra and Bat Roidmudes nodded before they began running away from the scene.

"Hey!" Drive yelled, attempting to give chase, but the Spider Roidmude tacked him and knocked the both of them to the ground with a thud before attempting to punch him repeatedly. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Drive got his senses back and blocked a punch before slugging the Roidmude across the face, making it roll away from him. Hopping to his feet, Drive saw that the two other Roidmudes had vanished into the night, leaving the Spider Roidmude for him. Grumbling, he squared off against the machine, taking another fighting stance.

"You aren't enough to stop us Kamen Rider!" the Spider Roidmude called, hunching over. "Your predecessor wasn't and neither are you! HAH!" he thrust his hands out, spraying lengths of white threads at the red Kamen Rider.

"Woah!" Drive dove to the side, letting the webbing grab onto a large piece of rubble. The lengths immediately began to constrict before crushing the slab of stone, letting the pieces slowly begin dropping to the ground. Looking at the destruction, Drive just gulped, "Okay, avoid the webs on this guy."

"Observant," Driver commented from his perch.

Drive cursed as the Spider Roidmude attempted to ensnare him again, forcing him to roll aside yet again and landing on his back. Grunting, he saw the Roidmude already in place to begin shooting again and he acted. Reaching to his Drive Brace, he grabbed the lever and pushed it three times. Drives armor revved like a high performance car before he got up and began running.

He moved like a blur, already out of the way before the Roidmude could shoot more webbing at him. It blinked at the sudden red blur, but it didn't get to do much more than that before it got slugged across the face at high speeds. It tried to orient itself, but Drive came in once again and let out a barrage of high speed punches which caused sparks to fly from each impact before an uppercut launched it up before gravity took hold and it smashed to the ground in a heap.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," Drive waned the Roidmude. "Just give up now and live among the humans like Liminals do or be destroyed. Your choice!"

"I….won't…SURRENDER!" the Roidmude bellowed, pulling itself up for another attack.

Drive sighed and pressed a button on the side of his Brace, prompting Driver to speak up.

" **HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE! TYPE SPEED!"**

Drive positioned himself for an attack. Behind him, the Triodon began to rev as if ready to move by itself. The Roidmude grunted and prepared to make it's final stand for-!

" **GUN!"**

Drive cried in pain when he was suddenly blasted with several bullets from an unseen assailant. One shot got him in the leg and he dropped to the ground. The Spider Roidmude didn't need a larger invitation than that and took off running. Drive growled and got to his knees, but the Roidmude slung a strand of webbing and took off onto a rooftop. The red Rider turned to see who had attacked him, but he only saw a flash of purple and heard a roar of a motorcycle before the attacker drove away.

"Damn," Drive muttered, getting to his feet. Sighing, he removed the small car from his Brace before hitting the button on the side.

" **NICE DRIVE!"**

The armor he wore dissolved, leaving him in his civilian identity once again, "Well, that didn't turn out the way I expected."

"It seems this was an organized strike," Driver pondered. "They had a plan, backup, and even ensuring for factors such as us managing to track them down."

"Yeah," Kurusu nodded. "Anyway, let's get back home and see if anything else has come up. I don't want to wait for these guys to attack someone before we can bring them down."

"Of course," Driver agreed. "And leaving before the police appear would be prudent."

"…that too."

* * *

In a small café, a noted place of sophistication, a young man sat at a table, enjoying his tea while working on a tablet. He wore a casual suit which was a deep and poisonous green with a white scarf at his neck. He wore intellectual glasses while his hair stood out in a tame orange rather than the usual black which the regular Japanese people sported.

With him was another handsome man with black hair, but was wearing a bright red coat which hung to his knees and had a furred collar and sleeves. Unlike his comrade who was calm and poised like any intellectual, the red-clad man looked like someone who was energetic and spontaneous. An easy smile came to his lips.

"What is it you find so interesting there, Brain?" the easygoing man asked with a grin.

"I am researching the abundant number of Liminals who are coming to this city for the exchange program," the bespectacled man, Brain replied. "With so many varied breeds coming to live and learn from the humans, we need to be informed of what they are and their abilities. Surely you can understand that, can't you Heart?"

"Hm. So many potential new friends," the red-clad man, Heart laughed. "Do you think any of them would be interested in helping us deal with the humans?"

"Possibly, but that isn't our concern," Brain shrugged, sipping more tea. "With the influx of Liminals into the city, we Roidmudes now have a wider field in which to absorb qualities which can help us evolve. Not just with a human's, but imagine what can be gained from a physically superior Liminal."

Heart nodded, "Interesting. I can't wait to meet a new friend who has those qualities." He looked up to Brain. "Say, didn't you send some Roidmudes to collect that data?"

"An experiment in progress," Brain admitted. "But I did ask some Roidmudes to collect data on any Liminals living in this prefecture. It could help in our future endeavours."

"I see, I see," Heart nodded. "Well then, I can't wait to see if it works."

*DI~ING! DI~ING~*

The long chime of a bell sounded off, having the tone of a regular bell used to announce customers, but ringing out like a large brass bell would, dragging out the noise it made. Turning to the door, Brain and Heart eyed three Roidmudes, 060, 088, and 034. Although they were quite obviously not human, no one in the room seemed to move or even react to their presence.

Everyone in the room was moving too slowly to react at all.

"Did you get the data?" asked Brain, looking at the trio expectantly.

"Yeah, we got it," 060 nodded, holding up a USB Drive. "We got it just fine, but we had to be a bit flashy coming out since the Kamen Rider found us."

"The Kamen Rider?" Heart raised an eyebrow. "Hmm."

"Irritating, but now irrelevant," Brain shrugged, taking the drive from his underlings. Connecting it to his tablet, he brought up a list of names, addresses, and the species of the name holders. Brain began to grin as he scrolled down the list. "Excellent. With this we may be able to accelerate our evolution."

"Always good," Heart nodded before looking to the trio. "Why don't you three find some more Liminals with qualities you like and we'll meet up later."

"Right!" the three Roidmudes nodded, shuffling out of the café, still leaving the slow moving patrons to their slow panic.

"We should be moving along as well," Brain stood up, tucking his tablet under his arm. "We have much to do."

"Right, right," Heart sighed, standing up with his comrade. Both men casually walked out of the café as if nothing was wrong. The moment they left, the patrons returned to their normal speeds, confused and wonder what kind of Liminals had been able to do such a thing.

* * *

 **Kimihito Residence**

A new day dawned for the three denizens of the house and Kurusu was up bright and early. Yawning once again, he headed downstairs to begin breakfast. Scratching his head, he saw Driver mounted on his mobile platform and looking at the morning news. Playing on the screen was an image of the destroyed government offices the previous night, all of it being attributed to anti-Liminal terrorist groups.

"They blame everything on terrorists these days," Kurusu shook his head, moving to the oven. "Okay, breakfast!"

"Don't forget we have Miia-chan living with us now," Driver reminded his housemate. "Lamias have a large appetite and one of their favorite foods is eggs according to the data I've reviewed."

"Okay. Really big omelettes it is," Kurusu nodded as he pulled an egg carton out of the fridge. "Anything else about Lamias I should know?"

"Nothing different from most breeds of snakes," Driver replied, turning back to the television. "I'd be concerned if a bunch of her relatives want to visit though…"

"Right," Kurusu frowned in confusion. "And the rules for this homestay exchange? Smith wasn't real clear on that." He grumbled over the government agent dumping the whole problem in his lap. Miia was so far a sweetheart, but all but forcing him into the program just so she could avoid paperwork? How was Smith able to even keep her job much less do it?

"Well, there are a number of rules," Driver replied, turning back to Kurusu while he worked. "The first is that when Miia needs to leave the house, you must accompany her at all times so that she does not get into trouble."

"Trouble?" Kurusu blinked while looking over his shoulder.

"Yes. Many of the Liminal species come from very different cultures compared to ours and need help adjusting and avoid being taken advantage of," Driver explained. "If you recall Miia-chan's case, Lamias are an all-female tribe so likely she has never met a male before now."

"Oh," Kurusu nodded. That made sense. "Got it. So what else?"

"Well, you can't just keep Miia-chan home all the time," the wearable robot explained. "You and your case handler must take her out periodically so she can mingle and learn how human society works. That's part of why this program was started."

"Right, right," Kurusu nodded, cracking some eggs into a hot skillet.

"Also, you cannot do anything to try and profit off a Liminal's special abilities," Driver continued. "That means you cannot sell a harpy's eggs or Arachne silk or something like that. There was a huge scandal a few years back as some humans tried to kill, eat, and even sell mermaid meat, thinking it would make them immortal or some nonsense."

"Oh…" Kurusu turned green at the image.

"One of the biggest rules thus far is that sexual contact with Liminals is expressly forbidden," Driver finished, looking sternly at Kurusu. "It would result in immediately deportation for the Liminal and arrest for the human in question."

"What's that look for?" Kurusu frowned, poking at the eggs with a spatula.

"Just reminding you of the rules since Miia-chan's a pretty young woman and you are a young man," Driver chuckled, looking away from Kurusu innocently.

Kurusu sighed, slipping the numerous eggs from the pan onto a plate, "I've kind of got more to think about than just girls Jii-san. Like the Roidmudes, remember? If we don't stop them then there won't _be_ any girls left to flirt with."

"True, true."

A muffled yawn announced the Lamia as she slithered into the kitchen, wearing a nightshirt which hung over her hips and didn't do much to hide the amount of cleavage she had. Kurusu and Driver immediately stopped their conversation and regarded Miia. Rubbing her eyes, she approached the table, "M-Morning"

"Good morning Miia-chan!" Driver greeted with a 'smile'. "How was your sleep? It wasn't too cold was it?"

"Nope! It was nice and warm!" Miia beamed at the machine before looking to Kurusu who was approaching with the cooked eggs, "Good morning Darling!"

"Darling?" Kurusu blinked, but shook it off. Maybe Miia just misunderstood what the name meant? "Well, I understand Lamias like eggs so I cooked up a bunch for you." He presented the plate of seven eggs for his new houseguest. "I hope you like them sunny side up."

To his relief, Miia gasped in delight as her eyes sparkled at the sight, "Oh! I love eggs! We only have them raw or hard boiled at home so I never had them like a human would before!" Miia was almost drooling in anticipation as Kurusu passed her some eating utensils so she could dig into the eggs with gusto. She promptly did, capturing as much of the cooked egg as she could in her chopsticks before gulping it down, barely chewing it before doing so.

"Hey, slow down Miia," Kurusu huffed. "I have bacon and toast on the way so save some room for that would you."

"OK Darling!" Miia beamed.

" _Darling,_ eh?" Driver chuckled. "My, it seems you've made quite the impression on Miia-chan Kurusu."

"Oh come on," Kurusu sighed, heading back for the oven. Breakfast resumed and the trio sat themselves down to eat. Miia of course enjoyed the eggs along with the other new human foods she never got to try before and seemed to fall in love with Kurusu's cooking. She kept sending warm smiles and blushes the young man's way, making Driver chuckle at the sight although Kurusu himself didn't seem to get it. Soon enough breakfast was done and Kurusu was washing up the dishes as Miia and Driver entertained themselves with morning television.

Wiping his hands off after the chore was finished, Kurusu spoke up, "Well Miia, since part of this homestay program is about learning about humans, why don't I show you around the neighbourhood and introduce you to some of the people around here?"

"Really?!" Miia gasped, looking up from her seat. "Can we go shopping too? I promised souvenirs for my friends back home!"

Kurusu shrugged, "Can't hurt. I can show you a few stores you might like."

"YAY!" Miia lunged at Kurusu, wrapping him up in a tight hug. However, this included her tail as it wrapped around the young man, trapping him in a tight coil which was almost crushing thanks to the natural strength a Lamia had in their tails. Kurusu gagged as the air was forced from his lungs and his body crunched in ways that a human should never have to experience.

"Miia…air…" he gasped.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Darling!" Miia gasped, realizing what she did.

"Kids," Driver chuckled at the sight.

* * *

After Kurusu got his breath and the feeling of his limbs back, the pair of young man and Lamia girl set out. Miia wanted to dress for a good first impression so she had donned a denim skirt with a yellow button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up and gold bracelets for good measure. She wanted to be seen in a good light by the people who lived around Kurusu, mainly because she intended to stay living with him for some time to come. Kurusu of course tried to keep the trip casual and not drive up anybody's nerves over the fact that there was a Lamia living nearby.

They walked (or slithered in Miia's case) through the streets and introduced the new resident to some of the locals. A group of small children heading to school stopped to admire Miia and ask her questions about herself, mainly about her tail, where she came from, and if she could do more stuff like snakes. She seemed embarrassed when they asked her if she shed her skin like a snake, which confused Kurusu a little since he didn't see anything embarrassing about the fact. The adults were nice enough, many of them being won over by Miia's good looks or her bubbly personality. She even got into a giggling conversation with an old lady like she was her granddaughter. A few people were unnerved by the fact that she had a snake body, but no one gave her any scorn for it, which seemed like a good sign to Kurusu.

"Kya! So cute! My friends will love them!" Miia squealed as the pair exited a store which sold popular gifts for girls. Her arms were loaded with bags filled with clothes and plushy snake dolls. Kurusu followed her, looking down at his empty wallet. He hadn't intended to spend that much, but Miia wanted a gift for each and every one of her friends. Kurusu just sighed and reminded himself that it was for the good of interspecies relations that he make a good impression not on Miia, but also on the Lamias that lived in her hometown.

"That's…great," he mumbled to Miia's enthusiasm. It looked like he was set back on that game console he'd been saving up for.

"Thank you so much Darling!" Miia beamed back at her host. Turning to face him, she flushed slightly with a smile, "I know my arrival was a bit…unexpected, but I'm really very glad it was you who took me in now. It's nice to know I got such a good guy like you looking out for me."

"Ah, it's nothing," Kurusu shrugged. "Smith may have been a little inconsiderate just foisting off her responsibilities just so she didn't have to work, but I'd be a pretty rotten guy if I just turned you away because I didn't sign some paperwork. I mean, you're here alone in a new country and you're dealing with a new culture. Being snubbed by who you thought was your host family would leave anyone feeling pretty low."

"Oh Darling," Miia beamed, squeezing the bags in her arms tightly. Fortunately everything inside of them was either clothing or plushies so nothing was broken. The same could not be said for Kurusu when Miia lunged and wrapped him inside one of her powerful hugs. "DARLING!"

"HRK! Miia…air…!" Kurusu choked, his limbs and body pinned by the excitable girl's powerful tail.

*SHOOOOM!*

A wave passed over the pair, covering the area in its power. Immediately everything slowed down to a fraction of its usual pace. Cars moved at a snail's pace, people moved at a crawl as dawning fear crawled across their features. Miia blinked, feeling so much slower than before. Looking around, she tried to make sense of what was going on,

"Dar…ling…?

"A…Slow…down," Kurusu grimaced, feeling Miia's coils loosen at a tortuously slow pace.

Kurusu turned his head to try and see in the direction that the wave had come from. Again, it was tortuously slow but he managed to begin seeing the whole scene as a car was thrown aside, driver and all before falling into slow motion once again. At the other end of the street were three Roidmudes, the same trio which he had fought the previous night, Cobra-type 034, Bat-type 088, and Spider-type 060. They causing chaos as they shot up shops, vehicles, whatever they felt like shooting at through the gun barrels which made their fingertips. They seemed to be showing off at one another, seeing who could make the bigger explosions. Kurusu grit his teeth and tried to move, to escape Miia's coils and move her, but without one of the Shift Cars on his person…

*BEEP BEEP!*

' _Spoke too soon!_ " Kurusu thought as tiny highways rose up from the ground before running to his waist. Midnight Shadow, Funky Spike, and Max Flare raced down the highways before driving at Kurusu's side. His loose shirt lifted and revealed three slots like the one he wore on the Drive Driver, attached to his belt. The three cars slotted themselves in and in a burst of light, Kurusu's paralysis ended and he could move normally. Gently taking Miia's tail, he unwound it before stepping away, running for the three rampaging Roidmudes. He wanted to keep her out of the chaos until the-!

"Oi! Look! A Lamia!" 060 shouted, pointed at the pair. "Dibs on her!"

' _Shit!_ ' Kurusu cursed mentally.

"What?" 034 huffed, following his comrade's gaze. "Hey! No fair! I'm the Cobra-type, not you! I should get her qualities!"

"Forget her!" 088 snapped, swatting both skulls of his fellow Roidmudes. He directed their gaze to Kurusu who was approaching them despite the Destiny Shift field which the three were producing. "The Kamen Rider's here! Take him down first and then we can decide who gets the Lamia!"

Kurusu frowned and tensed, waiting for the three Roidmudes to charge at him. The longer they spent arguing and fighting him, the more time his backup had to arrive as well as keep Miia away from the danger. No sooner as he finished that thought, a roar of a powerful engine sounded off, announcing the Tridoron as it swerved around a corner and sped towards the scene. It roared past the frozen Miia, easily dodging the other cars on the road before skidding to a halt next to Kurusu. The freeter quickly opened the driver's side and retrieved the Drive Driver from its console, "Great timing Jii-san."

"I came as soon as the alarms sounded off," Driver replied before Kurusu took him and the Type Speed Shift Car before exiting the car again. He turned to face the trio of Roidmudes who had stopped arguing when they saw the modified car approach the scene. Kurusu knew they were about to charge at him so he needed to act fast. Strapping the Drive Driver to his waist, he turned the Ignition Key.

" **START YOUR ENGINE!"**

"Henshin!" Kurusu declared, inserting the Type Speed into his Drive Brace and pushed the converted lever.

" **DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!"**

Kurusu's cherry red armor formed onto his body before the Tridoron launched an extra tire to secure itself across his chest. His transformation complete, Drive stepped forward and took a fighting stance, "Okay Roidmudes, how about we finish what we started last night?"

"Get him!" shouted 034, prompting the three Roidmudes to attack.

Drive charged back and the battle was joined. 088 lashed out with a punch which drive ducked under before smashing his fist into the android's side, knocking it back in time for the red Rider to black a charge from 034. The Cobra-type dipped and weaved around Drive's punches before grasping his arms, trying to push him back. Drive kept his ground but grunted when 034 kicked his side in a powerful strike. Take two such strikes, Drive wrenched his arm free before capturing the Roidmude's leg before pulling the android off of its feet and throwing it to the ground. Panting, Drive looked up to see 060 coming down from above from a webline. The Spider-Type swung at Drive, kicking him in the face and knocking him onto a parked car's hood. The Rider grunted, shaking his head to get the stars out before he looked up to see the three Roidmudes recovering and pointing their fingertip guns at him.

"Crap!" Drive shouted, rolling off the car and diving behind it for cover. Glancing over, he yelped and ducked back down as energy bullets shot up the car.

"Kurusu, you'll have to use one of the others!" Driver shouted over the noise.

"No kidding!" Drive grunted, taking Max Flare from his belt before removing the Type Speed from his Drive Brace. He turned the Ignition Key to cause the Drive Driver to roar to life again. Flipping Flare's back end over, he inserted the Shift Car into his Brace before pushing it. "Here goes!"

" **TIRE KOUKAN!"**

The Drive Driver announced the change as a fireball emblem appeared on his screen. The Tridoron reacted, withdrawing its front left wheel before a bright orange one was deposited next to it, adorned with flame-like extensions from its surface. Across the sides like on regular tires were the words Max Flare. The regular wheel then launched the new tire out where it flew through the air towards Drive, slamming the Type Speed tire off of his body and replacing it on his armor. The words on the side flared as an electric guitar sound revealed the activation of the new armor.

" **MAX FLARE!"**

New weapon secured, Drive grabbed his brace and pushed the Max Flare Shift Car three times, causing the machine to roar and the Drive Driver to speak again.

" **F-F-FLARE!"**

Drive stepped out from behind his cover and into the streets, quickly lifting his arms. From where he held them, a spinning flame ignited in the air, bearing resemblance to the tire which was wrapped around him. It spun on the spot, growing large until it appeared to be a burning tornado. Drive then executed his attack, kicking the tire at the centre of the small firestorm and sent it flying at the three Roidmudes. 088 and 034 yelped and dashed to the side, but 060 wasn't nearly as quick as the other two and took the sudden flame attack head on. A blast of flames came from the impact, sending the Roidmude screaming several feat backwards in a flaming heap. When it crashed to the ground, it exploded, shooting even more flames out from the impact.

"060!" cried 034 in shock.

"You bastard!" 088 bellowed, running at Drive with his Cobra-type ally not close behind.

"One down," Drive muttered, adjusting his gauntlet before charging back at the pair.

Once they were within range, Drive reared back his arm for a punch which suddenly ignited with fire thanks to Max Flare before he slugged 034 across the face, knocking the android back with a cry of pain. He ducked underneath 088 before launched a roundhouse kick which likewise ignited before it struck, knocking the Roidmude back like its comrade. Drive pushed his advantage, running at the pair before unleashing combos on one, and then the other to keep them off balance. 034 got his balance back first, lunging for Drive once again before the red Rider could counter, forcing the pair intro a grappling match. 088 quickly saw his chance and his back erupted with a pair of metal bat wings before he took to the air.

"Eat this Kamen Rider!" the Bat-type bellowed before unleashing more energy bullets. 034 snickered and dove to the side, leaving Drive out in the open before the shots began pelting his armor.

"GAH!" Drive cried out, being launched back before landing on the ground. Shaking his head, he pulled himself to his knees to look up at where the Bat-type Roidmude was hovering out of reach.

"Flare doesn't have the range to strike him! Use Spike!" Driver spoke up from his position.

"Yeah!" Drive agreed. Standing up, he turned the Ignition Key, creating more engine noises before he drew the green Funky Spike from his side and quickly removed Max Flare to insert the spiked Shift Car into the Shift Landing Panel. Once secured, Drive have the converted lever a push.

" **TIRE KOUKAN!"**

The Drive Driver's screen lit up again, this time with a spiked wheel. The Tridoron likewise reacted, launching a new tire at Drive. It collided with Max Flare, knocking the orange wheel aside and setting into place. The new tire was bright green and along its tread were numerous spikes all in a row. Printed across the sides of the new tire were the words Funky Spike, glowing as the new abilities engaged with the sound of dubstep music.

" **FUNKY SPIKE!"**

"I had some of yours," Drive spoke up, pointing the front of his new tire at the flying Roidmude. "Now have some of mine!"

The Funky Spike Tire began to spin in small portions, firing off a spike as it came to the front of Drive's torso like the bullets of a gun. All of the spikes flew through the air like bullets, catching 088 off guard as no normal bullets would have been able to reach him. As such, he couldn't dodge as the green spikes crashed into his armor with hails of sparks. Several managed to hit his wings, cracking them and making holes. Soon the constructs just couldn't hold and the android dropped back to the ground, landing in a heap.

"088! Don't worry! I got him!" 034 shouted, charging for Drive again. The red Rider grunted as he dodged another punch from the Cobra-type, but instead ducked behind the machine before wrapping his left arm around its neck in a chokehold. Naturally the machine didn't need to breathe, but it did serve the purpose of pressing the Funky Spike directly into its body. In position, Drive then grabbed his Shift Brace and press Funky Spike three times.

" **SP-SP-SPIKE!"**

The Funky Spike Tire roared to life, spinning at high speeds. Incidentally, this caused the spikes to rip through the Roidmude's armor and into the sensitive mechanics within. The android cried out in agony, unable to move thanks to Drive holding him still. After a moment to really dig into the Roidmude's mechanics, Drive released it, the momentum of his Tire launching it into the air with a glowing green gash in its back. While in the sky, the machine overloaded and exploded, dropping bits and pieces to the ground.

"One left!' Drive turned to see 088 getting up, snarling in range. The red Rider faced his last opponent while reaching for his belt again. "May as well go three for three." Turning the Advanced Ignition Key once again, Drive removed Midnight Shadow from his belt and quickly replaced Funky Spike with it before pushing the new lever.

" **TIRE KOUKAN!"**

Tridoron launched yet another new Tire, this one metallic purple and with triangular protrusions coming from the tread which made it look like a giant shuriken. It cut through the air before knocking Funky Spike out and replacing it. Once secured, the Drive Driver's emblem turned to a shuriken while playing shamisen music. Once secured, the words Midnight Shadow lit up across the side of the tire.

" **MIDNIGHT SHADOW!"**

088 grunted and stepped back, likely guessing that he was in over his head. Drive was keeping his cool, knowing he could pull off a win. Gripping his Shift Car, he pushed it three times, causing the Drive Driver to speak once more.

" **SH-SH-SHADOW!**

"Final Turn!" Drive announced, beginning to charge at the last Roidmude.

088 began to shoot wildly at Drive, hoping to bring him down once and for all. When the bullets came close, Drive seemed to split into two and just keep running! The Roidmude fired more and more, but each Drive it shot at just split into more copies, making it impossible to tell which one was the original.

"Hup!" all eight Drives called, leaping through the air before coming back down around 088 in a circle. They then raised their arms, generating energy rings shaped like the Midnight Shadow Tire, spinning rapidly. 088 looked around in panic before trying to flap his wings once more to take to the sky. The numerous Drives just watched him go before throwing their weapons at it. The constructs flew through the air before slicing through the Roidmude's hide with accuracy and ease. The android screamed out with purple gashes flashing on its body before promptly exploding.

"Yeah! Three for three!" Drive cheered, his copies disappearing.

"Don't get too excited Kurusu, did you get their cores?" asked Drive Driver.

Drive hesitated, and then rubbed his head awkwardly, "Uh…to be honest I'm not sure…I was kind of distracted by the others coming at me."

"Oh Kurusu…" Driver sighed, closing his 'eyes' in agitation.

"D-D-Darling?"

Drive blinked and urned, seeing Miia right where he left her, her tail lifeless on the ground as she stared at him with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. Worried, he slowly began to approach her, "Miia? Are you okay? Sorry you had to see all that but…" He reached to take her hand, make sure she wasn't going to faint or something, but instead she flinched and drew back from him like he was about to hit her. "Miia?"

"K-Kamen…Rider," she stuttered. "You're a Kamen Rider?"

"Uh…yeah, that's what the Roidmudes call me," Drive nodded, getting confused. Shaking it off, he moved to escort Miia from the scene of the battle. "It's not important, we'd better get moving before someone-!"

"Don't touch me!" Miia screamed, slithering back in obvious terror. "Don't…don't come near me, Monster Hunter!"

Drive blinked, "What?"

"Monster Hunter! An awful person who hunts down innocent Liminals and kills them just so he can look like a big shot! Kamen Riders are the worst of them all!" Miia screamed, slithering back even further. "I thought you were nice! I thought you could be my darling! Now you were probably just being nice so you could kill me for some trophy!"

"Miia, what-?!" Drive blinked. Where was all this coming from?

"Just stay away from me!" Miia cried, sliding off into an alley, obviously 'running' away.

"Miia, wait!" Drive called, beginning to give chase.

"Kurusu! Wait! We have to remove ourselves from this scene, including the Tridoron!" Drive Driver spoke up. "If you don't, the Mon Squad will be able to track us with it! We can chase Miia-chan after we make sure we don't get caught!"

"Tsk!" Drive looked down at his equipment before he looked back to the stationary Tridoron. Cursing under his breath, he ran for the car. The Drive Driver was in the end, right. If the police found any of his equipment then they would eventually be able to lead it back to him since only one man in the country had the resources and know-how to put it together…and he only had a few relatives as well.

When did his life get so complicated?

 **To Be Continued…**

 **A/N: Okay, here is the Ten-Faced Paladin adaption of Kamen Rider Drive. I know plenty of you are thinking that Monster Musume is a pretty ill-fitting series to blend with something like Kamen Rider Drive, but here is my reasoning. Monster Musume, among other things, deals with the supernatural in the real world with the government getting involved with new policies and laws. Kamen Riders always go out and fight monsters, putting them into conflict with these new laws, even if the ones they fight are generally evil. It's a conflict which will get interesting as this story develops. Plus, the nature of the Roidmudes and their desire to adapt desires and physical traits to evolve, the Liminals (Monster Girls) make for tempting targets because of their superior physical abilities among their other special abilities. So for once, the Kamen Rider is on the opposite side of man's justice and instead has a heart of 'true' justice, to do what is right and not what gets approval.**

* * *

 **Check it out! Omake Corner!**

 **Type Speed** : This Shift Car is different from the others in that it does not grant Drive an attachment, but an overall suit of armor. It is based off a sports car, making this versin of Drive more agile and quick than normal, reflecting the strong points of such a vehicle. In this form, he can use his **Type Speed Tire** to race across the ground and strike the target rapidly. The Full Throttle for this mode is the **SpeeDrop** in which with the Tridoron, Drive is able to strike the target multiple times at high speeds, usually leading to the target's destruction.

 **Max Flare:** One of the first Shift Cars created by Krim Steinbert, Max Flare is a basic staple to Drive's arsenal. It is designed similar to that of a hot rod, but coloured orange with flame designs on its body. By itself, Max Flare can generate flames which coat it and trail behind to create damaging streams of fire.

 **Max Flare Tire:** A golden orange tire with flame-like protrusions coming from the treads. This Tire gives Drive the ability to add flames to his punches and kicks, making them much more destructive than normal. When shifting Max Flare in the Drive Brace three times, Drive can launch a tornado of flame at a target. The Full Throttle of this Tire is called the **Flare Stream** where Drive launches fireballs from the Max Flare Tire at the enemy.

 **Funky Spike:** Another basic staple to Drive's arsenal, Funky Spike is also based off a hot rod, but green and coated in numerous spikes with a purple windshield. By itself, Spike can race at high speeds to pierce its targets and cause imense damage to them with the proper speed and positioning.

 **Funky Spike Tire:** A green tire with a row of spikes running along the tread earned by using Funky Spike in the Drive Brace. In regular use, this Tire is capable of shooting its spikes at an enemy in the distance, making for a good weapon in long-range fights. When the Drive Brace is shifted thrice, the Tire can spin at high speeds and rip through anything which comes into contact with it like Roidmude armor. The Full Throttle of this tire is called the **Spike Tornado.**

 **Midnight Shadow:** The third of Drive's first three Shift Cars. This particular Shift Car is modeled after a hot rod and is deep purple with yellow highlights and a shuriken design on the hood. When by itself, Midnight Shadow can copy itself to confuse its enemies before coming in for a sneaky stealth strike.

 **Midnight Shadow Tire:** Using Mignight Shadow grants the Midnight Shadow Tire, a shuriken-themed Tire. When in regular use, it boosts Drive's stealth capabilities, but also let him throw shuriken-like constructs at his enemies. When boosted in the Drive Brace, Drive can duplicate himself to launch even more attacks or just confuse his enemies in the midst of a fight. The Full Throttle of this Tire is called the **Shadow Shuriken**


	2. Rage of a Roidmude

I do not own Kamen Rider Drive or Monster Musume. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for profit. If you have a problem with that then go elsewhere, otherwise please enjoy.

 **Rider Musume**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 2: Rage of a Roidmude**

"Miia! Miia, where are you?" Kurusu shouted as he ran down the streets, looking for the lost Lamia. How hard could it be to find a girl who had a seven metre long serpent tail?

The reason Kurusu had lost Miia was because she had witnessed him become Kamen Rider Drive and destroy three Roidmudes. He figured that Miia had been frightened by what he had done, but she seemed to have a pretty bad image of what a Kamen Rider was and she fled from him. He would have given chase, but he had to hide his equipment before any police found it. With the current climate, Roidmudes could possibly be considered Liminals to the uninformed so in the worst case scenario, Drive would be considered the bad guy for destroying them despite the rampage that the trio were on.

"Despite her size, Lamias are rather swift when they want to be, faster than humans at any rate," Driver spoke up from Kurusu's waist, likewise looking concerned. "She could be quite a distance from us already."

"Dammit!" Kurusu cursed. He was berating himself over and over for scaring Miia like he did, but he had no choice with three Roidmudes right there attacking everyone for what seemed like the hell of it. His agitation was even worse since Miia was his responsibility and now she was out alone in the city which she was completely clueless about. It would be so easy for something to happen to her, like some perv taking advantage of her or worse, she getting attacked by some racist punks who had a chip on their shoulders about Liminals. Jerks like that had been on the rise, especially from the old families and more religious groups, denouncing them all as Youkai that needed to be exterminated. They could hurt her, or worse!

"Kurusu! Don't panic!" Driver spoke up, catching his grandson's attention. "Shadow, Flare, and Spike are already on the case and looking for her. I even have Hunter, Monster, and Vegas lending a hand. So calm down and we can work through this!"

"I know, I know!" Kurusu huffed, "But Miia's never been to Japan before now and she's never interacted with humans, much less men before! Who knows what's happening to her!"

"It is a scary thought, but we can't afford to panic," Driver agreed. "Now, Miia-chan doesn't know the area very well so we have to think. Where would a Lamia feel safe enough to stop running?"

Kurusu scratched his head, "Maybe someplace open, someplace where there aren't many humans around considering her mood."

"Then that is where the Shift Cars will search first," Driver 'nodded'. "Now, let's get moving and inspect some places for ourselves."

"Right!" Kurusu agreed, taking off running again.

* * *

In another part of town, there was an amphitheatre. It wasn't in use for any official purpose, making it quite empty for the time being. It made it a perfect meeting place for those who didn't want to be so readily observed. In this particular case, it was the green-clad Brain and the red-clad Heart who were at first glance lounging about. Brain was leaning against a wall while working on his tablet while Heart was laying on a bench, just watching the clouds go by without a care in the world. Neither Roidmude spoke, having nothing to say for the moment.

After several moment's Brain's eyes lifted from his tablet to see something fluttering down from the sky. One may have mistaken it as a fluttering piece of trash, it was the city after all. On closer inspection though, the fluttering 'trash' was in fact 0-8-8, connected together that looked wobbly as if they were about to come apart from exhaustion if numbers could be described in such a way. Brain frowned at the sight before he stepped onto the main stage and lifted up his tablet. The 088 fluttered down and touched the screen before being sucked into the computer.

"034, 060, and now 088," Brain frowned, scrolling through what appeared to be Roidmude profiles. "The Kamen Rider is in top form today it seems."

"Oh? Well, our friends are okay so that's what matters," Heart shrugged as he sat up. "Still, it is a little annoying to have to rebuild them so often."

"On that front, I can agree with you," Brain nodded, viewing data from the retrieved 088. Stopping at a video file, he raised an eyebrow. "Hm, it seems that the Kamen Rider has a little companion now."

"Oh? A friend?" Heart began to grin.

"Indeed, a Lamia. She seems quite terrified of Kamen Riders if 088's observations are to be believed," Brain viewed apparently moments which 088 had witnessed after its body was destroyed. Brain minimized the window and pulled up another one, quickly searching through files and brought up Miia's profile. "Name: Miia. Species: Lamia. Location: XXOO-XXXX-XXYY. Host: Kurusu Kimihoto."

"Steinbert's grandson?" Heart raised an eyebrow. "Odd of him to be part of the Homestay Program."

"But it is a fact we can use," Brain grinned. "A man, or in this case woman, inside." He then brought up a third window, "Cross-referencing Lamia habits, she will likely run to an open space with it being a 75% chance that it will be near our position. In other words, she will run to a park or similar green space to feel safe. There are only three in the immediate area of the battle in which our three were defeated."

"Is it now?" Heart grinned. He stood up and brushed off his coat. "Shall we make a new friend then?"

* * *

Inside a community park, Miia was indeed hiding. Curled up in a small clearing, she wept in heartbreak at the thought of a human man she was growing to be very attracted to turned out to be one of the worst sorts to ever enter a Lamia's nightmares. Japan was a hotbed of monster hunters, her mother had warned her many times to be on the lookout for the types. Magical girls, armored warriors, and all sorts of types wandered around the country just looking for an innocent Liminal to smite so they could make themselves look like heroes. Kamen Riders, Super Sentai, Mahou Shoujo, all of them would take down an innocent Liminal just because of the way they looked. She'd even seen it before on television shows that glorified them!

"Why Darling?" Miia wept, rubbing her eyes. "Why did you have to be one of _them?_ What did Liminals ever do to you?"

"Miss Lamia? Miss Lamia, are you all right? Please answer!"

Miia blinked and dared to look up from her hiding place. To her surprise, two young men were looking around, actually calling for a Lamia, possibly her, to come out and let them know where she was. One was an orange-haired young man with glasses wearing a fine green suit. The other was dark-haired and wearing a long red coat with furry cuffs. They seemed almost distressed in their search, as if worried that someone had been hurt.

"Miss Lamia?" the young man in green called out. "Please answer! Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"We're not with the police or that awful Kamen Rider!" the man in red answered. "We want to make sure you're safe!"

Perhaps it was fear or some naive part of her, but Miia took the two mens' words at face value. Slithering out from her spot, the sound of rustling bushes caught the pair's attention. Rather than be afraid or repulsed, they both seemed to adopt looks of relief. They casually approached Miia, but stopped a respectable distance away.

"Oh thank goodness!" the man in green sighed. "Are you okay Ms. Lamia? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"Um…" Miia shivered, but shook her head. "No...I'm fine."

"Now that is a relief," the man in red smiled. "When we heard a Lamia was involved in that clash between those three criminals and the Kamen Rider, we worried our feud had gotten you hurt."

"Criminals?" Miia frowned. "You mean those three weird Liminals who were fighting that Kamen Rider?"

"Yes," the man in green nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Three delinquents really. When we received word that they were running around stirring up trouble we dispatched immediately to stop them. Sadly, that Kamen Rider appeared and things got really out of hand."

Miia's confusion deepened, "So, you know what they were?"

"Of course we do," the man in red smiled. "We're all the same species. Roidmudes."

"Roidmudes?" Miia tilted her head.

The two men nodded before their entire forms became covered in a pixelated red or green aura and they seemed to shift and transform before her eyes. The man in red transformed to a blood red body which was bulky and made out of red steel with heart-shaped shoulder pads of all things. His chest was black and looked like a mess of black cables and engine parts all hooked up to a golden heart/pump. Ridges rose from his neck, looking like a coat collar, but with metal cables on it, similar to more cables running down his neck. His face was steel and skeletal and with a red head dress which blocked his eyes and had large gold horns sticking out of it.

His companion had a similar, yet completely different change. His body was almost entirely green with a silver chest plate, the sides decorated like a brain. His shoulders were mounted with more silver prain-like ornament with green streamers running down the back. His face was silver and black, the eyes and the top of his head were covered with a large head dress which was made to look like a brain, even if the top portion was flat.

"Ah!" Miia gasped, flinching back from the two, even her own nature as a Liminal unable to stop her from gaping at the pair.

"Apologies for our appearances, but it cannot be helped," the brain-themed Liminal apologized before he and his comrade changed back to their human forms. "I am Brain, and my comrade is Heart. We are administrators to the Roidmude people living among the humans."

"Hello," Heart greeted warmly.

"Um...nice to meet you," Miia bowed. "So, those other three Liminals were Roidmudes?"

"Oh yes, but hardly the most upstanding ones," Heart chuckled. "Fortunately, after the Kamen Rider destroyed their bodies we managed to capture their cores for punishment."

Miia gasped, "So they're okay? That monster hunter didn't kill them?"

"They're right here," Brain lifted his tablet, revealed a pixelated image of the three numbers bouncing inside of it. "We Roidmudes are robots, much like Golems. Our bodies can be destroyed, but so long as our cores are undamaged we remain alive. Unfortunately, even then we are at risk because of the Kamen Rider's desire to destroy us."

"Well, I'm glad they aren't dead," Miia nodded. A sad frown came to her face, "But, why is he attacking you so harshly?"

"A feud he blames us for I'm afraid," Brain tipped his glasses. "You see, his grandfather helped invent us, but he intended for us to be servants to humans. When we evolved past that, he attempted to destroy us and we lashed out to protect ourselves. The Kamen Rider is his grandson and we believe he is out for revenge."

"That's awful!" Miia gasped.

"Yes, we regret it everyday," Heart nodded solemnly. "But he is simply much too angry at us to listen. So our only course of action is to fight, otherwise we get destroyed."

Miia cringed at the sad story. Darling's grandfather tried to destroy the Roidmudes and died in an accident. He seemed like the sensitive type so he likely did feel awful about losing someone so close. He wouldn't want to hear about anything bad about him either. It was just like some of the stories she read, people dying due to a misunderstanding like Romeo and Juliet! Well, she wasn't going to let her Romeo end up killing a bunch of innocent people!

"I can help!" Miia declared confidently. "Darling obviously misunderstands what happened and can't admit his grandfather was doing something awful! I'm sure with some TLC I can calm him down and get him to give up being a Kamen Rider so the Roidmudes can live in peace!"

"Oh? That's a bold declaration. You're a pretty good friend," Heart grinned. Reaching into his pocket, he searched for something, "Just in case though, I have a present for you." He lifted his hand out to reveal what looked like a small black car with a blue cobra's head hissing from the front while its tail wrapped around the driver's area.

"What is it?" Miia asked, picking up the tiny car and had to admit the design looked cool.

"We call it a Viral Core," Brain explained. "Think of it like super vitamins for Roidmudes. If we are destroyed, we can use these to repair ourselves, or boost our strength in case of an emergency."

"If things go south with the Kamen Rider, you can use this to call a Roidmude to protect you," Heart grinned. "After all, a heartbroken young man on a revenge kick can be a hard thing to predict."

"Thank you Mr. Heart! Mr. Brain!" Miia beamed. She plucked up the Viral Core and slipped it into her own pocket. "Don't worry about a thing! We'll get this mess cleared up no problem!"

With a determined air, Miia slithered off to find her misguided Darling. Watching her go, Brain's face shifted back to its usual emotionless state, although Heart's was as jovial as ever. The green Roidmude Commander scoffed as he moved to sit down on a bench and get back to work.

"As predicted, her naivety makes her easily manipulated," Brain stated, scrolling through profiles again.

"She's just trying to be a good friend," beamed Heart.

"Hn," Brain scoffed, finding the profile he desired. Tapping it, the floating core of Roidmude 034 emerged to hover in front of Brain's professional stare. "Follow the Lamia and when she meets with the Kamen Rider and produces the Viral Core we gave her, attack. Under no circumstances must you reveal that we sent you. If they recognize you, make it sound like you escaped imprisonment. Understand?"

The wobbling numbers bobbed before taking off through the air.

"Good luck!" Heart waved after the Roidmude Core.

* * *

"Miia! Please, where are you Miia?!" Kurusu shouted, running through the third park in as many hours. The Shift Cars were on patrol and they had already cleared two parks, spaces which a Liminal like Miia could feel safe and not cramped.

Kurusu came to a crossroads on the path, panting, "Crap. How far could a Lamia go? Did I scare her that badly?"

"Once we find her I'm sure we can settle things," Driver tried to reassure him. "She just doesn't know about the Roidmudes and what we do. Come to think of it, likely many Liminals have a negative opinion of the name Kamen Rider."

Kurusu sighed, "Yeah, with all the kaijin other Riders fight we wouldn't look too good to the general public these days." He then grunted and scratched his head, "Man, I hope this doesn't mess things up for either of us."

"Worried about the girl's feeling already?" Driver 'smiled'. "There's hope for you yet Kurusu."

"Oi!"

*BEEP! BEEP!*

Kurusu was halted from arguing with his partner when Max Flare came zooming down the path on the right. Skidding to a halt, the Shift Car honked loudly before turning around and racing back down the way it came. Kurusu easily recognized what it wanted, desiring the Rider to follow it to something that it found. Hoping that it had found Miia, he took off running after the flame-themed car.

Following the small car down the path, Kurusu came out into a wider area. With Max Flare pointing the way, the young man almost slumped in relief as he saw Miia coiled on a park bench. Funky Spike and Midnight Shadow were parked in front of her, honking and apparently having races to keep her attention and her mood up. It seemed to be working as she giggled over the antics the two Shift Cars were doing.

"Miia!" Kurusu called, catching the Lamia's attention.

Miia blinked and looked up with a gasp, "Darling!"

The Shift Cars made themselves scarce as Kurusu ran up to where Miia sat. He didn't get too close, not wanting to frighten her again. Miia seemed a little apprehensive, but she didn't seem like she was going to run off screaming again. For a moment, neither of them were sure what to say. Kurusu knew he had scared Miia something fierce by fighting as Drive while Miia herself did know that she had been a little unfair to Kurusu after discovering that he was a Kamen Rider. She had let her prejudices paint a picture of him and she didn't even try to let him explain himself. So steeling herself, the Lamia inhaled…

"I'm sorry," Miia bowed her head.

"Wh-what?" Kurusu blinked.

"I'm sorry for just running off like that and calling you such bad things," Miia frowned. "It's just...for a really long time Lamias were hunted and killed just because of the way we looked. We didn't really get any peace until people just figured we were stories. Then these days you hear all about Kamen Riders, Super Sentai, and Mahou Shojou hunting and killing monsters. I was afraid of meeting one when I came to Japan and when I saw you turn into one...I just panicked."

Kurusu sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Aw Miia, you don't have to apologize. I did kind of look a bit like a barbarian back there. To the average person watching the fight, I did beat down and then kill three Liminals."

"It...did kind of look that way," Miia nodded.

"Yeah," Kurusu nodded. He pointedly looked to a spot next to Miia and she nodded, allowing him to sit down. "Well, I guess I should explain. Those three things I was fighting weren't Liminals. They're called Roidmudes."

"Roidmudes," Miia nodded as if testing the word.

"They're, well, for lack of a better term, robots," Kurusu explained. "An associate of my grandfather invented them to help people. Part of their programming is that they can change and evolve their bodies depending on their environments or the people they interact with." Kurusu's head dropped as a shadow overtook his features. "Well, they were supposed to, but they never could because there just wasn't a source of power strong enough to constantly power that change."

"Really?" Miia blinked.

"Yeah, but then my grandpa…" Kurusu began, but flinched.

"I can tell this part," Drive Driver spoke up, prompting Miia to look down at him.

"Mr. Belt?" she blinked again.

"Well, you can call me that now," Driver sighed. "But before, my name was Krim Steinbert. I had invented the Core Drivular Engine, a new source of power unlike anything people have seen before. When Dr. Banno discovered my invention, he beseeched me to use it to power his Roidmudes. I was uncertain at first, but he convinced me after telling me how much good the Roidmudes could do. So I had my engines installed in them and it worked. The Roidmudes could fully function and initiate their own evolution protocols."

"So...what happened?" asked Miia.

"The Roidmudes eventually evolved to the point where they began asking why they had to obey humans," Kurusu answered. "They rebelled, killing their own inventor and they went after Grandpa simply because he knew how to shut them down."

"Yes, they attacked my home and almost killed me. If I hadn't put my consciousness into this Drive Driver I would never have survived," Driver, or rather Krim, sighed. "They then initiated a Global Freeze."

"Global Freeze?" Miia asked.

"Remember when those three appeared and suddenly everything slowed down?" asked Kurusu. When Miia nodded, he continued. "Well, they did that all over Japan. It was their declaration of war, intending to destroy humanity and then replace it, seeing themselves as superior in every way."

"They...what?" the Lamia gasped.

"It's one of the special abilities every Roidmude has," Kurusu explained. "They're able to expand a field of energy over an area which causes everything to slow down to a fraction of its regular speeds. Unless you have a Shift Car or some other kind of machine to negate the effects, you slow down too and become an easy target for the Roidmudes."

"So during that fight...when everything was so slow…" Miia gasped.

"Those Roidmudes did it so they could go and do whatever they wanted and no one would be able to do anything about it," Kurusu nodded. "Fortunately, it's also pretty obvious so when they use it, Grandpa and I can track them down. Otherwise, it is just impossible to find them."

"Why? They seem to stand out like I would," Miia asked.

"All Roidmudes are coated with a substance which is similar to the human cerebellum," Krim answered. "By using it, they can adopt a fully human appearance to hide among the people, practically invisible for all intents and purposes."

"But, why use these powers to hurt people? Why are they doing it? Don't they just want to live like any other Liminal would want to?" Miia pressed, appearing to be trying to make sense of the situation.

"It's not so simple Miia," Kurusu shook his head. "You see, the Roidmudes want to evolve into a perfect being and they'll do it by any means possible. That means attacking humans and Liminals for their specific qualities which can trigger their evolution protocols and become that much stronger. When they perfect their evolution, I think they intend to really go to war with humanity, with Liminals possibly getting caught in the crossfire."

Miia gasped, scared at the notion Kurusu was putting forth, "But..but why? Can't they do that normally?"

"They could, but it would take much too long," Krim answered. "You see, Roidmudes were programmed to gradually evolve when they stayed in a particular environment and interact with the same people, adapting to better suit their tasks. However, they do not wish to wait that long. Instead, they attack humans who hold qualities they desire be they physical or emotional. By touching the body or invading the brainwaves of the target, they can adopt those qualities much quicker and evolve faster, but it is a painful and dangerous process for the victim."

"And with Liminals becoming much more public, they're going to be more active," Kurusu added. "Liminals are way stronger or have abilities which are much more useful to the Roidmudes. Several attacks already happened but they cover their tracks too well for regular investigators to pursue."

"But they can't be all bad, can they?" asked Miia. "That would be like saying all Harpies are bad, or all Arachne are bad. Maybe it's only a few bad eggs and the rest are in hiding?"

"There are only 108 Roidmudes Miia," Kurusu shook his head. "They needed that many just to activate the Global Freeze. All of them are behind this goal of theirs, or at least don't care to try and stop it."

"So, so then maybe you could tell the police or the government like ? They'd know what to do!" Miia flustered, trying to convince Kurusu that going to war and destroying Roidmudes wasn't the way to go.

"The police are more likely to arrest _me_ than try to corral the Roidmudes," Kurusu groaned. "Because they're not human, they get the benefits of the Liminal Protection Act section of the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Accord. So long as they don't make themselves out as a hostile group as a whole, they can keep going on their merry way and cause trouble. If they get caught, their commanders can just claim that one was a crook and take him away before letting him go someplace else!" Kurusu then hung his head in agitation, "Me, because I was fighting them and trying to destroy them, I would get jail time for assaulting a Liminal, at the least."

Miia wilted at the explanation. She was positive that not all of the Roidmudes were bad. Her Darling just had the bad luck of meeting the ones who were, the ones who did want to complete this evolution idea of theirs. She could sort of see his side of the issue, if the bad Roidmudes were as dangerous to humans as he said. Still, even with that slowdown ability of theirs surely Ms. Smith and her associates in the government could handle the issue. Her Darling didn't have to be a Kamen Rider, right?

"But still, they'd do something to keep the Roidmudes from going out of control, right?" she tried to press.

"With the slowdown technology, no police force can stop them," Kurusu shook his head. "And if we tried to share the Core Drivular technology to counteract it, someone would probably just try to use it to profit and start this mess all over again."

"Humanity is just not ready for the technology," Krim 'nodded' solemnly. "Now, how about we fix up our friends and send them back out into the world?"

"You mean the small toy cars?" Miia asked.

"They are called Shift Cars. They are our friends and comrades." The noises of car horns sounded off and the three Shift Cars that found Miia returned to the scene. "May I introduce Max Flare, Funky Spike, and Midnight Shadow."

"We call them Flare, Spike, and Shadow for short," Kurusu added.

"So, you have three of them..." Miia observed.

"Actually, the rest of their brothers are currently working on Roidmude-related cases all over the world," Krim explained. "Maybe if you are able to stay with us long enough, you'll be able to meet them all."

"Maybe," Miia nodded.

"Anyway, let's go home, Miia," Kurusu offered his hand to her.

Miia looked to his hand and for a moment he feared she'd shrug him off again. After that moment passed though, the Lamia girl smiled and took his hand, letting him help her 'stand' up. His shoulders sagged with relief at her smile, hoping that they really could patch things up again.

"Let's go home," she smiled.

Unaware to both, a set of three numbers was following after them.

* * *

 **Kimihito Residence**

The trio did make it back home and settled into their daily activities. Fortunately, Kurusu had saved Miia's packages which she had dropped when she ran away. It gave the Lamia the chance to pick out the things she bought for her friends, and to try on the clothes which she got for herself. Letting the Lamia have her space and get settled all over again, Kurusu and Krim headed for their basement HQ to get some work done.

"Kurusu, we need to finish those protoforms soon," Krim told his grandson, rolling alongside him on his mobile platform.

"I know, it's just that I'm not sure what to make them into," sighed Kurusu, turning on the lights. "Was it this hard for you, Grandpa?"

"Well, I had a blank slate since I was just starting. You have to come up with something new now," Krim chuckled.

Kurusu sighed and walked to another computer panel before typing up a command. A nearby wall panel opened, revealing a number of hardware and software tools polished like new and ready to use. Inside the hidden chamber were a number of Shift Cars, but unlike the others all of them were a steel gray and looked exactly alike, looking like modern sports cars: all alike.

"Hard to pick out a function for these guys when you already picked every kind of car out there," Kurusu sighed, walking to the compartment. "I mean, you even picked a circus clown car of all things."

"Yes, Amazing Circus. Though, I believe in you, Kurusu. You will figure something out for these protoforms." Krim reassured his grandson.

Kurusu had wanted to expand Drive's arsenal even more since most of the other Shift Cars were either out of town, or out of the country. So with some pleading to his grandfather, he learned how to build new Shift Cars. However, each Shift Car had to be programmed for a specific purpose and be exposed to what they were to be modeled for, sort of like how Roidmudes could evolve into their functions. Since Krim had already picked out the most obvious sets of cars and other vehicles, it left Kurusu with few ideas as to what he would do for his own Shift Cars. So the new ones were still in their Protoform stage, no programming and no abilities.

"Maybe I could try military vehicles, like jeeps or tanks," Kurusu considered.

"Perhaps, but you'd have to master Type Wild and Type Technic to even have a chance," Krim reminded his grandson. "And you have yet to try and move on from Type Speed."

"I know, I know," Kurusu sighed.

"Anyway, maybe you should spend some more time with Miia. Maybe she can help inspire you."

"Grandpa…" Kurusu frowned, just knowing the man turned belt was trying to steer him to be more sociable with girls, even if she was a Lamia.

"Darling!"

Kurusu blinked and looked to the stairs leading up only to see Miia coming down, looking curiously at everything. She seemed especially fixated on the form of the Tridoron which was being given a regular system scan to ensure no bugs or viruses were popping up.

"Hey Miia, what's up?" Kurusu asked, turning to face his Lamia houseguest.

"I wanted to show off my outfit," Miia commented, gesturing to her pink top and denim skirt. She spoke as if half-distracted, still looking around. "So is this your hidden base?"

"Sort of," Kurusu chuckled. "Want to see what I'm working on?"

"Sure!" Miia slithered over to her Darling and peered down at the rows of silver cars. "Are these those Shift Cars like the three you showed me?"

"Yep. They just don't have a function or programming yet," Kurusu sighed, watching Miia gaze at the cars. "Grandpa took most of the ideas with the Shift Cars he already made so I don't have much of an idea what to program them with."

"Hm," Miia pondered, reaching down and tapping one of the Shift Cars with her finger before drawing it back. "Ooh! They're cold!"

"We do have to modify them in a cool environment, otherwise the sensitive materials inside could be damaged before the programming is complete," Krim explained. "Once they're programmed and mature, that isn't a problem but in this protoform state they're quite vulnerable. Think of them like baby Shift Cars."

"Babies?" Miia blinked, suddenly imagining a chibi car with big doe eyes for headlights and a mouth for a grill with a pacifier. "Hmmm…"

Kurusu chuckled, "Anyway, you wanted to show me the outfit you got?"

"And a few others," Miia nodded. "If...you aren't too busy?"

Kurusu scratched the back of his head, feeling indecisive. He knew he had to get to work on the protoforms and hopefully get some kind of idea on how to program them, but on the other hand he was likely on thin ice with Miia as it was. He wanted her to trust him and no be afraid of him. Krim nudging his back seemed to just make the decision for him, "Okay, let's see what you got."

"Yay!" Miia beamed, grabbing Kurusu's hand before pulling him towards the stairs.

"Kids," Krim chuckled, rolling along after the pair. Fortunately he had his own ways around the house without needing Kurusu to wear him everywhere.

As he moved along, he didn't notice one of the protoform Shift Cars beginning to glow a ruby red. It was only for a moment before the panel which revealed the protoforms closed up again, cutting off the sight of the glowing car before Krim could see it.

It was just as well, since newborns did need rest…

* * *

Outside the residence, 034 waited in his Core Form for the Lamia and the Kamen Rider to be out and about so he could make a play for the Viral Core the girl had stuffed in her pocket. He was irritated that he couldn't reconstruct himself yet, but he was tasked with following the two and attacking once he had the chance. He couldn't go out and try and pull together some material to make a new body for himself, not when he was on the clock!

" _Come on, come on,_ " 034 grunted. " _Whip it out already! I got better things to do than watch some inter-species romance!_ "

Darkness was soon approaching. Fortunately Roidmudes couldn't catch colds.

" _Achoo!_ "

Hopefully.

* * *

Miia and Kurusu decided to use the new day to try and make up for the crappy finish of the one before. So they were out and about, shopping once again. This time, it was for groceries instead of clothes or other things.

"Good thing the eggs are on sale," Kurusu huffed, placing the fourth carton of eggs into the shopping cart.

"My favorite!" Miia beamed, but she was trembling fiercely since they were in the perishable goods aisle, meaning refrigeration units were on both sides of them.

"Right," Kurusu looked to the shivering Miia. "You know, you could have waited at the end of the aisle for me."

"B-B-But who'd h-help you k-keep an eye out for sales?" Miia shivered.

Kurusu would have commented that since his parents were abroad a lot, he had to do the shopping himself plenty of times. He knew how to look for sales and when they were actually sales and not some kind of gimmick made to trick people into buying a lot of stuff. Still, Miia seemed like she was gung-ho about the two of them shopping as a pair and he didn't want to burst her bubble. He would just go to another aisle where they served hot food and it might help perk the Lamia up.

The store was a new supermarket he hadn't been to before. His regular one didn't cater to Liminals so they had to pick out a new one in case Miia had some special needs in her diet. Fortunately, part of the information Krim did find for the Homestay Program was several sponsored supermarkets which not only catered to Liminals, but Kurusu could submit the receipts from shopping there to the coordinators like Ms. Smith and get reimbursed for everything he bought food-wise for Miia.

Funny how the agent had neglected to inform him of that.

"Okay," Kurusu looked to the list as they left the cold aisle, Miia sluggishly moving next to him as best she could. "Eggs, eggs, and eggs. We have the milk, some tofu, oden, and the vegetables that you asked for. All that's left is some bread and a few canned goods. We're making great time."

"G-g-good!" Miia grinned.

"Your lips are turning blue Miia," Kurusu sweatdropped. "Let's go down the cooked meats aisle so you can warm up a little."

"S-sure!" Miia nodded rigidly.

After letting Miia bask in the heat radiating from the heat lamps keeping choice cuts of roast beef warm, the pair headed outside for their trek back home. Kurusu took the time to explain some of the things Miia was curious about, like what the roadsigns meant or explain what the characters on some advertising posters meant. Although able to speak Japanese quite easily, Miia still had a bit of a problem with reading certain characters of the language.

"Oh! Gatchapon!" Miia gasped, noticing the famous vending machines outside a store. She slithered over to the novelty and glanced at all of the small toys. Some held animal badges, some held small toys, others were items advertising some television series or another. "Oh! They have Pokemon! Eeeee!"

"Well, if you have the change you can snag a few," Kurusu offered. Hey, what was 200 Yen or so in the grand scheme? He was a little curious as to how Pokemon was popular with Liminals though. You'd think some might feel a kinship with the pocket monsters instead of wanting to catch them. Then again, strange creatures with powers might be the perfect pets to Liminals.

"Yes! I'm gonna catch 'em, all!" Miia grinned. She quickly rifled through her pockets and plucked out some change she collected from the shopping. In her rush to nab an Arbok or Seviper, she accidentally drew something else out with her change.

The Cobra-Type Viral Core clattered to the sidewalk, giving off a faint hiss as it did so. Kurusu looked to the noise, thinking that Miia was having some difficulties in operating the gatchapon machine. Instead, he saw Miia huffing and leaning over to pick up the Viral Core. He needed a moment to realize what he saw Miia with, but then performed a spit-take with his own saliva at the shock of it all.

"Darling? What's wrong?" Miia blinked, plucking up the Viral Core.

"Miia," Kurusu broke out into a cold sweat. "Where did you get that?"

"My Viral Core?" Miia asked, causing Kurusu's sweat to increase. "Well, after I got scared yesterday Mr. Heart and Mr. Brain found me and gave it to me."

"HEART?! BRAIN?!"

"Yes! They said those three Roidmudes you fought were criminals they were sent to arrest, but you got to them first," Miia explained, obviously not seeing Kurusu's distress. "They gave this to me in case more criminals tried to get me or in case things got wild since you're a Kamen Rider."

Kurusu was pale as he tried to make sense of what Miia was saying. She had met Heart and Brain, two of the top Roidmudes? Their commanders? Not only that, they had given her a Viral Core! But why!?

"Miia, Heart and Brain are not who you think they are," he told her urgently. "They're bad news, especially Heart!"

"But he seemed nice enough," she argued.

"No, he isn't! Heart was the one that killed-!" His eyes widened when he spotted a pale glow coming from around a building's corner, racing right at them. He knew instantly what it was: A Roidmude Core! "Miia!"

It was too late as the core entered the Viral Core. Miia gasped as she dropped the miniature Cobra Viral Core as it began to spark. Energy rose from it and grew before materializing into a Roidmude.

It was 034 and he was back.

"About damn time!" the Cobra-type snarled, looking at Miia. "I thought it would be easy to reconstruct after seeing Brain-sama give you that Viral Core. I slipped out and had to wait overnight in the cold for you to whip it out!" The Roidmude's hollow eyes seemed to have a laser-like bead on Miia, or more specifically her tail, "But I know the best way you can make it up to me!"

Lunging, 034 grabbed onto Miia's tail, causing her to cry out at the vice-like grip of the robot. Holding her tail, the Roidmude clamped down even harder, causing Miia to scream in pain as she felt like something was invading her body and taking something out of her in the process.

"MIIA!" Kurusu screamed, running for the Roidmude. "STOP IT!"

"Spare me!" the Roidmude hissed before unleashing a pulse of power, causing everything and everyone in its vicinity to slow down to a snail's pace. Kurusu was practically frozen in his tracks as he tried to get to Miia. Snickering, 034 turned back to Miia. "Now, let's get back to taking those incredible Lamia muscles, shall we?"

034 clamped its hands over Miia's tail again before the ruby sheen of her scales turned to a dull red, spreading out from the Roidmude's hands like an infection. Miia screamed out in further pain, a hiss underlying her cry as her entire tail seemed to go limp wherever the paleness spread. Soon her entire tail was pale red and limp, prompting the Roidmude to drop it like trash.

' _My tail! I can't feel it! I can't slither!_ ' Miia panicked in her thoughts, unable to move at all.

' _Miia!_ ' Kurusu cried out, unable to move to help.

"TRIDORON! SHOOT!"

A pair of beams fired from up the street and the Roidmude was blasted and sent flying away from Miia. At the same time, Max Flare, Midnight Shadow and Funky Spike attached to Kurusu's Shift Car holder. Once they were on, the effects of the Slowdown vanished from Kurusu. He looked up and saw Tridoron in the distance.

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Kurusu gave Tridoron a thumbs-up.

The modified car drove up the scene, the driver's side opening to reveal Krim in his command position, "It seems this one did slip away after all."

"Yeah, and Heart and Brain tricked Miia into carrying a Viral Core so he could take us down," Kurusu huffed, running to the Tridoron so he could pick up his partner.

"They what?" Krim gasped, but then his eyes narrowed. "I see, playing at being friends were they?"

"Seems like it," Kurusu nodded, strapping Driver around his waist, but stopped when he heard the Roidmude chuckling rather than grunting in pain.

"Is that the best you've got?" 034 laughed as he pulled himself to his feet. Sparks fell from his body, but not from any sort of damage. Krim and Kurusu heard noises coming from deep inside the robot's frame, like the machinery was disassembling and rebuilding at the same time.

"Oh no," Krim gasped. "Kurusu! He's evolving!"

"Yessss!" 034 hissed in glee. "The muscles of a Lamia's tail were the last piece of the puzzle! I finally have what I need to move to the next stage of my own evolution!" The Cobra-Type lifted his hands into the air before his entire body became covered in red/orange pixels which shifted and bulked up. When they dissolved, the Roidmude came out...changed.

His body was bulky with metal cord muscles. His torso was covered in plates which were shaped like the various muscles of the human torso, but the bolts and segmented sections were easy to spot with metal cords being seen through the gaps. His shoulders were bulky and black with more bolts on them. His arms were more metal cords, but ended at his forearms with red metal that didn't end in hands, but instead were topped with large monkey wrench heads, hissing with hydraulic power. His legs had more red metal, but seemed skeletal, albiet made from metal and steel instead of flesh and blood. Its head looked like a single cybernetic eye with a glowing centre held in the grip of a large monky wrench, the two edges looking like horns.

"I'm not just Roidmude 034 anymore! I have a name now!" the evolved Roidmude laughed in glee, swinging its new arms around. "I am the Clamp Roidmude!"

"This Roidmude must have been the one attacking those Liminals with dangerous reputations," Kurusu frowned, recalling the reports of attacks on Liminals, all of the victims being noted for being particularly strong.

"Yes, for their crushing power," Krim agreed. "Be careful Kurusu."

"Yeah," Kurusu nodded, hitting the Advanced Ignition Key.

" **START YOUR ENGINE!** "

"Henshin!" he declared, lifting the Type Speed Car and inserting it into his Drive Brace before shifting it.

" **DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!** "

The familiar cherry red armor formed around Kurusu, completing his transformation into Kamen Rider Drive. Clenching his fists, he moved into a battle stance while he stared down the evolved Roidmude. "Kamen Rider Drive. Let me take you for another ride."

"I'll crush you, Rider!" the Clamp Roidmude growled. "I'm not the same as I was before!"

"Duh," Drive huffed before he took off running at the malevolent machine. He raced in close before punching at the Roidmude, only to have the machine's wrench-like hands swat his own smaller fists aside before trying to smash him with them. His limbs were slow, but it was enough to clip Drive's head, causing him to stumble. That moment of being off balance was all the Roidmude needed to get a second smash across Drive's face before slamming both 'fists' into his gut. Drive doubled over before and underhanded swing smashed his chin and caused him to stumble back.

"Guh!" Drive gagged. One quick exchange and he was already seeing stars. "Okay...he's way tougher than before."

"He has been incorporating the muscle strength of Liminals like Minotaurs and Ogres," Krim spoke up. "And Miia's tail strength was already crushing. Mix with the others he's incorporated and his strength in terms of raw power is nothing to laugh at."

"Right, so we'll have to be quick then," Drive agreed, reaching to the Drive Brace and pushing the lever thrice.

" **SP-SP-SPEED!** "

Drive tensed before the Type Speed Tire across his chest began to spin so fast it was like a blur. He dropped to his side and there was a loud squeal from said tire before he began racing along the ground like a car, aimed right for the Roidmude. Coming in close, he kicked out at Clamp.

The Clamp Roidmude did indeed focus on strength, but although he was slow, he wasn't _that_ slow. He had just enough speed to see where Drive was coming from and raise his massive hands in defence. Drive's kicks smashed against the wrenches in blasts of sparks. The red Rider grunted in pain from the strikes hitting a solid defence. Clamp quickly saw his opportunity and lashed out, capturing Drive in hs hands, pinning both of his arms.

"I used to be afraid of you Kamen Rider," Clamp laughed, putting on the pressure in his hands, making sparks fly from the armor being crushed. Drive cried out in pain which made the Roidmude laugh all the more. "But now I'm beyond you! It's time for extinction!"

With a yell, he threw Drive to the ground before swinging his arms to smash his wrench arms against his kind's nemesis multiple times. Drive grunted in pain several times before one well-placed swing smashed into his chest and sent him sailing back where he smashed into a parked car, caving in the side of it.

"Okay...that hurt," Drive grunted, falling out of the indent he made to the ground.

"Kurusu! Kurusu, talk to me!" Krim cried out to his grandson.

"I'm okay," Drive grunted, talking to the pretty birds circling his head. "I'm...wooh...okay."

"You won't be for long Kamen Rider!" Clamp cackled, stomping towards his victim.

*VROOOOOOM! HISS HISS!*

"Eh?" Drive grunted, getting to his knees. In front of him, the Clamp Roidmude was approaching, but coming up from behind was a Shift Car, pulling up its personal highway as it went. It raced at the Roidmoude and began circling around its leg before the highway contracted, pinning its leg in place.

"Huh?" the wrench-armed Roidmude blinked, looking down only to have the new Shift Car drive straight up and smash into its face in a blast of sparks. "GAH!"

"Did one of the others get back into town?" Drive gasped.

"I...I don't know," Krim blinked. "I don't think I've seen that one before."

The Shift Car spun through the air before landing on the ground lightly and drove up to Drive's knee with a proud honk and hissing noise. Drive picked up the Shift Car, examining it. The car seemed designed to look like an American car, a Dodge Viper if he remembered the model right. It was a ruby red color with black accents on the sides and a tinted windshield. What made it unique was that the red paint job was made to look like a snake's skin and the grille had a pair of fangs over it like the same reptile.

*BEEP BEEP! HISS HISS!*

"Okay, I've never seen you before," Drive blinked, picking up the Shift Car in the palm of his hand.

"You wouldn't have. I didn't make this one," Krim commented, analyzing the form of the Shift Car. "But at this point, I don't think we'll have choice but to trust it."

*HISS HISS!*

"My mistake, trust _her_ ," Krim corrected.

"No kidding," Drive grunted, standing up. Holding the Shift Car, he turned the Advanced Ignition Key before he flipped his new ally's rear end into the lever position, showing a snake face with an open mouth as its emblem. Removing the Type Speed, he inserted the new Shift Car into place before pushing the lever.

" **TIRE KOUKAN!** "

The new tire came from the Tridoron and impacted against Drive, replacing the one wrapped around his chest. The new tire was a deep red, a darker colour than Drive's armor. The tread of the tire did not look like a regular tread, but instead looked like a snake's skin pattern. Over Drive's left shoulder was a snake's head which appeared to be biting down on its own tail with deep green eyes flaring. Across the side of the tire were the words Striking Viper which flashed while Krim gave off a loud serpentine hiss with the snake icon lighting up his face.

" **STRIKING VIPER!** "

"Striking Viper, huh? Alright, let's take you for a spin!"

Clenching his fists, Drive raced at the Roidmude once again. Clamp chuckled, thinking that the Kamen Rider was a fool for using a head on charge a second time. Once he was in range, the Roidmude swung to take his head clear off. The wrench swung it to strike, but at the very last moment, Drive ducked under the strike, like he had seen it coming a mile away.

"Huh?" Clamp blinked.

"HYAH!" Drive lashed out with several punches, striking the soft underside of Clamp's arm. It was one of the few places where he wasn't covered in hard steel armor. Sparks flew from the multiple impacts, indicating damage.

"Guh!" Clamp grunted, actually feeling his armor give way where the punches were striking. He swung wide, only for Drive to roll around the attack. Drive then leaped up and kicked Clamp in the face three times before gravity took hold and he came back down. The Roidmude cried out, stumbling away to get some distance from the Rider.

"Hm," Krim observed. "It seemes that Viper is able to enhance your reflexes along with your kicking and punching speed, allowing you to strike fast and retreat quickly much like a snake can."

"Yeah. But let's see what this girl can really do!" Drive grabbed the Shift Lever and pushed it thrice.

" **VI-VI-VIPER!"**

The Striking Viper Wheel spun at high speeds and with a serpentine hiss. From the wheel itself, a giant ruby red snake the size of a small car seemed to unroll from the rim to rear up and hiss menacingly at the Roidmude.

The Roidmude trembled and backed away, "What, what the hell is this!?"

It was all he could say before the snake struck and bit into the Roidmude, causing him to cry out with each bite. With the speed of its kind, the snake struck its enemy several times, eliciting sparks and bursts of smoke. The snake then grabbed the Roidmude in its jaws and tossed him along the street.

The snake head then looked at Drive, getting him to notice that although the snake looked almost like the real thing, it appeared to be made from a tire which had come apart, having a concave underside and a flat head and back with inward curves on the sides. The tire/serpent hissed in pleasure and nuzzled him before returning to the tire, shrinking down to wrap around the rim once again.

"It seems that Viper is quite fond of you," Krim commented.

"I noticed," Drive nodded as he gently patted the Striking Viper Tire. "Now, how about we shift into high gear?" He drew his Type Speed Shift Car once again before setting it into place.

" **TIRE KOUKAN!** **SPEED!** "

The Type Speed Tire returned, knocking Viper out of place before locking in. Drive looked at the recovering Clamp Roidmude. It was smoking from the strikes Viper had done to it, making it a perfect opportunity to finish. Reaching to his Drive Brace, he pressed the button which ran along the side.

" **HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE! SPEED!** "

Around the Clamp Roidmude, four towers of tires appeared, slowly drawing in on the damaged robot. Rather than watch, Drive just turned around and took a ready stance with his back facing the damaged Roidmude. A roar of an engine echoed in the air before the Tridoron began moving, beginning to circle the Rider at high speeds. The car soon became so fast, it was leaving a red trail as it drove and was even up on two wheels from how sharp the turns it was making.

The four tires reached the Roidmude, compressing it between them before spinning at high speeds. Spark flew from the points they touched before they launched the Roidmude directly into the circle the Tridoron had made with its speed. Drive meanwhile launched himself with a flying kick, striking the back of the Tridoron as it drove past. A flash of red came from the impact point before Drive was launched right back the way he came, striking the Roidmude as he flew past. The red Rider then struck the Tridoron again, bouncing back to strike the Roidmude once again. Over and over, Drive ricochet off the speeding Tridoron, smashing the Roidmude over and over using the momentum of his own strikes to keep the android in the air, a rising red light glowing in its abdomen.

"HIYAH!" Finally Drive ricochet one last time, striking the Clamp Roidmude in its glowing centre, causing it to scream out and explode in a blaze. The Tridoron stopped circling and Drive skidded along the ground before coming to a stop. His feet smoking, he stood up to gaze at the dying flames. From the centre of it all came the wobbling 034 which tried to flee, but something went wrong inside of it and instead exploded, ending Roidmude 034 permenantly.

"One down, one hundred and seven to go," Drive sighed.

"Yes, but all journeys begin with a single step and now you have officially started yours," Krim agreed.

When the last of the Roidmude Core's embers faded, so did the Slowdown Field it generated. Drive likewise removed his Shift Car and tapped the button on his Drive Brace, ending his transformation.

" **NICE DRIVE!** "

Kurusu immediately ran to where Miia was holding herself up by her arms. The color to her tail was slowly returning with the Roidmude's destruction, but she apparently didn't have much feeling back to it yet.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, looking over Miia's tail.

"I can sort of feel it again," Miia winced, trying to move. "But It's sluggish and slow."

"Okay, don't try to move it," Kurusu nodded. He began lifting Miia's tail, making the Lamia girl blush as he began wrapping it over his shoulders. Once enough of it was on, he picked Miia up in a bridal carry. The redhead blushed brightly at being carried in such a way, unnoticing of how much Kurusu's legs were trembling nor the sweat beginning to pool on his forehead from the added strain of lifting Miia's admittedly heavy tail along with the rest of her.

"Okay," he rasped, "Let's get you home…"

"O-Ok Darling."

Kurusu began -slowly- walking for the Tridoron, hoping that the passenger seat could be shifted so Miia could fit. He couldn't carry her for long without his back threatening to snap outside of his suit!

* * *

 **Amphitheatre**

"Hm?" Brain frowned, looking up from his tablet. "It seems that 034 was unable to do the job. His core just disappeared."

"Too bad our new friend couldn't help him after all," Heart shrugged. "Oh well. We have plenty more friends to help us take care of the problem." he looked over to the back of the Amphitheatre stage. "Isn't that right, Chase?"

From the backstage, a new person stood up. He had black hair and his features were strictly blank, making him look stoic although many would be quick to call him handsome. He was adorned in purple, like Heart and Brain were in red and green. His own outfit was a leather jacket and pants perfect for riding a motorcycle, like the street racers would wear. The front was decorated with small chains which were adorned on his chest, making him look a little more menacing.

"I will deal with him myself," the newly introduced Chase spoke sternly. "No other Roidmudes have to get involved."

"Be sure they don't," Brain frowned. "We need all the Roidmudes we can in order to reach the Blessed Number. We can't afford to let the Kamen Rider cut us down."

"Then I will deal with it immediately," Chase replied, turning to leave the stage.

"Such a good friend," Heart chuckled.

* * *

 **Kimihito Residence**

The pair of young man and Lamia girl returned back to their home where Kurusu immediately set Miia on the couch. After installing Krim in his mobile platform, Kurusu headed down to the HQ to get some items he'd need.

"Has any feeling returned to your tail Miia-chan?" asked Krim, watching in concern.

"Some, Mr. Belt," Miia nodded. "But, what happened? What did that Roidmude do to me?"

"He used his scanning features to invade your body and examine every inch of your tail muscles in order to incorporate similar features into his body," Krim answered. "Added with the muscle strength and other attributes he collected before today, it allowed him to evolve, gaining a form which united all of the qualities he took, specifically crushing strength and thus, Clamp."

"Oh," Miia nodded, running her hands along her tail. Her scales felt warmer and their sheen had returned so she was optimistic.

Krim watched her for a moment, "Miia-chan, Kurusu told me that Heart and Brain were the ones who gave you that Viral Core. Why were you talking to those two?"

Miia wilted slightly, "They, they said that they didn't want to fight Darling and just wanted to be left alone. They said that they lashed out and caused so much trouble because you and your friend wanted to destroy them because they wouldn't obey anymore. I...I thought it maybe I could convince Darling that things were different then maybe...he could...stop being a Kamen Rider."

"Oh Miia-chan," Krim shook his head. "Heart and Brain are some of the most ruthless of all the Roidmudes. It was Heart who struck me down one night without warning. Brain likely orchestrated the attack as well."

Miia's eyes widened, "They were-!"

Kurusu chose that moment to return with what seemed like a scanning device with some medical supplies to treat the bruises that the Roidmude's hands had left behind on Miia's tail. Coming into the room, he saw Miia tearing up and looking downright miserable, "Miia?"

"Darling…" she sniffled. "I'm...I'm sorry! I...I let them trick me and...and they did…"

"Grandpa told you what happened with Heart huh?" Kurusu smiled weakly. Approaching Miia, he kneeled down and patted her head. "Oh Miia. I'm not angry over that. We just met and you didn't know anything about Roidmudes either. You just wanted to keep me and them from trying to kill each other, weren't you?"

"I...I thought it was all one big mistake...or...or something!" Miia wiped her eyes. "I didn't want you to turn into a monster hunter or something so I thought I could explain their side. I hoped to end all the fighting before something awful happened. But they just tricked me so one of them could kill you and now a Roidmude is dead!"

Kurusu sighed, but didn't grow angry, "Like I said, I'm not mad. A little upset they used you like that maybe, but I'm not mad at you. Just be a little more careful when you're talking to new people, will you?"

Miia nooded before lunging at Kurusu, hugging him tightly. He easily returned it, finding it easier to do than when she would wrap her tail around him as well. At least it was easier to breathe with regular hugs. After a moment, he drew back, "Now let's see about getting your tail back to normal?"

"Okay!" Miia gave a watery smile.

Krim just gave an approving nod as he watched the two interact, ' _Good job Kurusu._ '

 **To Be Continued…**

 **A/N: Well, the conclusion to the first adventure as Drive. Miia and Kurusu managed to overcome their differences and are now right on track. Still, now that Kurusu's gotten her to trust him, can he handle an affectionate Lamia with her sights on him? Dealing with Roidmudes would be easier since at least with them he has a protective suit!**

* * *

 **Check It Out! Omake Corner!**

 **Shift Car Roll Out!**

 **Striking Viper:** A new Shift Car created when Miia touched a protoform with her bare hands, prompting it to absorb her snake-like qualities and her brain patterns. The appearance of this Shift Car is that of a ruby red Dodge Viper, but the paint scheme makes it look like it is covered in snake scales. On its own, this Shift Car can drive in silence, making it difficult to spot unless it wants to be seen. Due to being based on Miia, Striking Viper is female and has affections for Kurusu.

 **Striking Viper Tire:** When the Striking Viper is activated with the Drive Brace, it gives Drive the Striking Viper Tire, a dark red tire which the tread looks like snake scales with one portion of the tire looking like the snake's head biting the tail. When in use, it increases Drive's punching and kicking speed along with his reflexes, allowing him to strike much like a snake. When the lever is used thrice, the tire spins at high speeds and transforms into a large snake which strikes at the target. When Full Throttle is activated, Drive performs the **Venom Drop** in which a giant snake is generated and captures the target before Drive performs a drop kick off of the snake's head while said snake is launching a strike, both striking the target at the same time.

 **Roidmude Evolutions**

 **Brain:** A Roidmude Commander who leads the others in search of their Blessed Number and a perfected evolution. The qualities which he preferred were intelligence, logic, and knowledge. Compiling such qualities and aspects evolved him to his current form, a Brain-themed Roidmude who is very intelligent, logical, and cold who has among other abilities, access to neuro-toxins which cause great pain to the victims.

 **Heart:** Another Roidmude Commander who is in search of the Blessed Number. Unlike Brain who looked to logic and intelligence to become stronger, Heart searched out for the power of passion and raw instinct. Compiling these aspects allowed him to become the Heart Roidmude. His passion is his power, compiled inside of his body symbolized by the gold heart in his chest. He comes off as friendly, calling all of the other Roidmudes his friends but underneath is a Commander who is just as ruthless as the cold logic of Brain.

 **Clamp:** Formerly Cobra-Type Roidmude 034. He focused on the crushing power of raw muscle, focusing on Liminals who were known for such strength, finishing with Miia's tail. Compiling the musculature of so many different species who used their strength in different ways evolved 034 to a Roidmude who focused on crushing strength, like a clamp. He is armed -literally- with giant wrench hands which contain enough crushing strength to do away with nearly anything. Being caught between this Roidmude and a hard space is nearly a death sentence.


	3. Over at the Office

I do not own Kamen Rider Drive or Monster Musume. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for profit. If you have a problem with that then go elsewhere, otherwise please enjoy.

 **Rider Musume**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 3:** **Over at the Office**

*BREET! BREET! BREET!*

Kurusu mumbled and reached for his alarm, slapping the button to stop the annoying noise that woke him up. As his entire body came online, he suddenly realized that he couldn't move so well. Thinking that he may have tangled himself up in his sheets during the night, he reached to pull them away only to feel...snake scales?

"Mnnn."

Kurusu's eyes snapped opened and he looked to see what was going on. To his horror (and secret pleasure) Miia was in his bed with him, wrapped around him comfortably wearing only a nightshirt which was obviously unbuttoned, threatening to let her chest spill out while riding up on her admittedly very nice hips.

Kurusu withheld the urge to cry out in surprise and get away, mainly because he didn't want to let anything start poking Miia. Having Miia sleeping with him, spilling out of her nightclothes, was something of a turn-on. Worse, being a leg man and Miia having a rather exotic bottom half, it just made temptation that much harder to deal with.

"Miia," he sighed, shaking her shoulder. "Come on Miia, it's time to get up."

"Mnnn, just five more minutes Darling," Miia mumbled, trying to wrap more of her coils around him. "And five more degrees."

"Come on Miia, I can't get up until you do," Kurusu huffed, gently nudging Miia so she slipped off of him. Enough so he could sit up anyway. "What are you doing in my bed anyway?"

"Well," Miia lay down next to Kurusu, her boobs threatening to spill out of her top in the process. Not that Kurusu was noticing such a little detail...well, not so little. "It was cold last night and I just couldn't warm up so I decided to come sleep with you."

"Oh," Kurusu nodded. "Okay then, I'll fix up a warm bath while you get dr-WAUGH!" His offer to help Miia warm up the practical way was interrupted when the Lamia's tail wrapped around him and pulled him down into her embrace, using her now exposed boobs as part of the fleshy prison.

"No way Darling!" Miia practically purred in delight as she smothered Kurusu in her cleavage. "I want _you_ to warm me up!" She shuffled a little to get comfortable, incidentally smothering Kurusu's face even deeper into her boobs. Once comfortable, she gave a pleasurable sigh of comfort, "Mmmm! You're so warm. I feel like I'm coming to life already."

Kurusu's thoughts were less than relaxed.

' _B-B-B-BOOOOOOOBS!_ ' were his first thoughts. Fortunately, he managed to get some measure of control despite the practically unheard of and heavenly soft F-cups being pressed into his face. " _No, don't think about luscious boobs! Try to escape the snake tail first and then you can enjoy it! Escape first, perv later!_ '

He suddenly choked when he felt Miia's tail tighten even more around him, worse yet, around his neck! His vision grew a little fuzzy as he struggled in Miia's iron grip and soft bosom-y prison. Getting desperate, he began patting Miia's arm while attempting to loosen her tail, incidentally massaging his face with her boobs...a shame he was losing feeling in his face due to the blood beginning to be cut off.

"Oh Darling...zzz...I'm not in the mood," Miia's pleased mumblings indicated she had fallen asleep, making Kurusu gape. His vision blurred and thus he struggled more, but Miia's unconscious reaction was to simply tighten her tail more so he couldn't escape.

' _Crap! Miia, wake up already! I'm gonna black out!_ ' Kurusu mentally cried, unable to talk with the tail around his neck. Reaching out, he tried to find some sensitive spot or loose section he could use to wake Miia up and escape. His fingers landed on the tip of her tail in his search. With no other ideas, he grasped it tightly and squeezed, thinking it might help.

"AH!" Miia gasped, her eyes suddenly snapping open and a rosy red blush touching her cheeks. "D-Darling...m-my t-tail is sensitive there.."

' _Found a soft spot! Yes!_ ' Kurusu mentally cheered. He gripped her tail tighter and tugged it a few times for good measure.

"OOOOOAAAHH!" Miia cried out, trembling. Kurusu figured he nabbed Miia's critical weak point when he felt her coils loosening even more.

"*Wheeze* finally!" he croaked when the section of tail around his neck loosened. Shaking the fuzz out of his vision he looked to Miia, "Okay, now can HUFF!" His words were cut off when Miia promptly smothered his face into her chest once again.

He struggled, but froze when he heard Miia panting quite audibly, and not out of feeling discomfort. Moving his face, his eyes bulged when he saw that far from in pain, Miia seemed to be on the other end of the spectrum with flushed cheeks and being short of breath.

' _Okay, not quite the weak point I had in mind,_ ' Kurusu lamented, now quite mortified at his position.

"Darliiiiiing!" Miia groaned, tightening her hold once again. Out of reflex, Kurusu squeezed the tip of Miia's tail again. What happened next, Kurusu was pretty sure he almost died. Miia let off a wail and squeezed all of her tail, making Kurusu feel like he was about to have all his filling squeezed out like a toothpaste tube. Miia collapsed onto the bed next to him, Kurusu feeling sure that he could see the spirits of his ancestors waving to him.

"Oh Darling," Miia groaned.

"Am I interrupting something? My grandson looks like he's about to choke."

"Eh? Mr. Belt?" Miia blinked, lifting herself up to see where the familiar red robot was, but could not see the mobile platform anywhere. She then realized the second half of what Krim had said and looked to Kurusu, gasping when she saw him turning blue.

"I...need...AIR!" Kurusu gasped out and Miia realized what she was doing. Crying out in fright, he quickly began to uncoil from him, letting the unnatural shade of blue vanish from his features while he gasped for breath.

* * *

"Ow," Kurusu frowned, examining the imprint of Miia's scales on his chest, arms, and neck in the bathroom. "Well, it was easier to deal with than that Wire Roidmude."

Sighing, Kurusu glanced at his renovated bathroom. To be honest, the room was huge and with a massive bath. Of course, with the size of Miia's tail, it had to be massive so she could fit inside and be capable of bathing and warming up like she needed. Being a Lamia, space was a must when it came to her getting around.

"Man, I hope Mom and Dad don't flip out about this when they come back," Kurusu sighed, movng to the bathtub and hitting the taps to begin filling it up. "Mom's wanted to renovate for a while, but she probably didn't have this in mind."

"Is the bath ready yet?" Miia's voice asked as the door into the bathroom opened.

"Yeah, just about," Kurusu nodded, checking the water levels before turning the water off. Standing up, he turned to leave and give Miia some privacy, "It should be-WOAH!"

"Thanks Darling!" Miia beamed, naked as the day she was born while tying her hair up into a bun. Kurusu liked to think of himself as a gentleman and an all-around decent guy, adding serious when he became a Kamen Rider. But, he was still a young man and when presented with a naked woman, his mind went into reboot mode.

' _Huh, so her human half is all the way down to her pelvis while the snake scales begin on her hips and wrap underneath...that...to begin the snake half. Cool...and kinda hot and...NO YOU PERV! STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT! SHE'S FORBIDDEN!_ "

"Hey Darling, is it true that there's mixed bathing here in Japan at famous hot springs?" Miia suddenly asked, snapping Kurusu from his hormone-induced comatose state. Shaking his head, he realized Miia had slithered right past him and entered the bath while he had been gaping. She was obviously enjoying it, but just as obviously uncaring of how he could see her breasts floating in the water.

"Uh, yeah," He nodded, just glancing over his shoulder so he could see Miia, but not _see_ her. "Anyway, you seem fine here so I'll go get started on break-WAOH!" ' _Not again!_ '

His attempt to escape was met with failure as Miia's tail took hold of him and dragged him into the hot water where she wrapped her arms around him before sliding her hands underneath his shirt. Kurusu coughed some water out of his lungs before looking to his houseguest, "Miia, what the heck-!?"

"I just figured we could try mixed bathing here," Miia smiled, pressing up against Kurusu's back. The young man gulped, realizing he officially had nipple contact. "I mean, I came to Japan for the full emersion and all that." Miia trapped Kurusu's arms with the end of her tail before she maneuvered his shirt off, going for full body contact. "I wouldn't want anyone else to be my partner anyway. You can be my first...in _everything_ …"

"Miia-chan, you know the rules!"

"Eh? Mr. Belt?" Miia looked up, not seeing the familiar machine.

' _Great timing Grandpa!_ ' Kurusu mentally thanked, reaching out with his foot of all things to the tap which controlled the shower head. With a bit of effort, he turned the cold water on which made a spray come from the mounted shower head straight down on the pair. For Kurusu, it was nothing, but for Miia…

"AHHH! COLD! COLD! COLD!" she cried, diving into the water and freeing Kurusu from her clutches. She came back up well outside the spray while Kurusu got out of the bath and headed for the door. "Darling! What gives?!"

"Mixed bathing is _not_ a service we provide here," he retorted stoically before heading out of the bathroom.

"Geez! And I thought I was cold-blooded!"

Kurusu sighed as he closed the bathroom door remaining silent. For a moment he just stood there, gritting his teeth before he growled and promptly began banging his head on the wall to get rid of the numerous ecchi images of Miia which were now imprinted in his brain. Naturally he had a lot of material to go through after that morning alone. After a few slams, he calmed down, albeit with a steaming lump on his forehead.

"Getting a bit frustrated Kurusu?" asked Krim in his Type Speed Shift Car which rolled up next to him.

"Not funny Grandpa," Kurusu groaned, standing up. He and the Shift Car headed to Kurusu's room so he could change his clothes. "Miia's going to be the death of me if this keeps up, either from strangulation or just hormone overload."

"Well, Lamias are a rather passionate people," Krim laughed, his Shift Car generating a tiny highway to drive at face level with his grandson. "It stands to reason once she fell for you she'd make sure you knew it."

"Oh, I get it," Kurusu sighed, reaching his room and going straight for the closet. "But the problem is all the rules for the Homestay Program. I make a move on her and she gets deported while I get thrown in jail." he tossed his wet clothes into a hamper and came out with a new outfit on. "Not to mention I've got responsibilities as Drive. If I get jailed, there's no one left to stop the Roidmudes."

"That would be a problem," Krim agreed.

Kurusu shook his head one last time to get the images of nude Miia out of it before heading down to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. Turning on the television, he saw that the news was about ANM48 and their new song once again while describing the Treaty. Somehow, the news of the fight in the middle of the street between Drive and the Clamp Roidmude was missed, or rather suppressed. No one wanted to rock the boat and report fights between humans and apparent Liminals it seemed. That was good, since the people at large wouldn't know about Drive or the Roidmudes, but it was also bad since it meant the Roidmudes could keep going practically undetected.

"Man, keeping up with all this is going to kill me," Kurusu sighed, scooping cooked rice out of the cooker.

"Mou, don't say that. Miia will be sad." a new voice suddenly spoke.

"WAAAH!" Kurusu cried out, once again caught by surprise. Whipping around, fully prepared to throw his bowl of rice as a distraction before he could transform. To his surprise, he recognized the person sitting at his kitchen table. "Wuh…. _Smith?!_ "

"Don't tell me you forgot about me," the female agent grinned, lifting a cup of coffee which she swiped from Kurusu's coffee machine. "I'm your Interspecies Cultural Exchange Coordinator. Of course you'll be seeing a lot of me."

"Yeah...but...what are you doing here _now?_ " asked Kurusu, feeling a little tense.

Smith smiled before she noticed the rice in his hands, "Oh, am I in time for breakfast?"

"You came for FOOD?!" Kurusu gaped. What kind of agent did he land?!

"Well, that and to make sure you didn't get up to any _prohibited activities,_ " Smith replied, her voice growing stern while she stared at him from behind her glasses, making her look that much more intimidating in the process. Kurusu broke out into a bigger sweat before she let it up with a sigh. "And since you seem to be ignorant about the laws considering the exchange…"

"Ignorant?!" Kurusu cried. "Smith, the only reason Miia's here is because you got the wrong house and didn't want to do more paperwork about the mix up!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Smith replied plainly, looking away from Kurusu. "Anyway, I'm here to make sure you aren't breaking any laws." she sipped the last of her coffee. "Refill please?"

' _She's mooching off of me!_ ' Kurusu groaned internally, but went to refill the agent's coffee anyway. She was the one who could take Miia away and despite it nearly being a week since she arrived, he did like her presence.

"Anyway, I'm just here to check up on her," Smith continued as Kurusu refilled her cup.

"She's in the bath right now. Perfectly fine when I last left her," Kurusu answered.

Smith grinned before leaning in closer to him, "You do realize that 'harm' includes popping her cherry, right?"

"I WOULDN'T DO THAT!" Kurusu cried, leaping back from Smith with a bright red face.

"Oh? But she's come onto you right? Lamias are known to be pretty passionate. She also has all the right parts so she's able to 'do it'," Smith teased, standing up. "It would be a real shame if you did since if a human took the chastity of a Liminal representative, there'll be this whole political mess to it, the least of which would be her being deported and you getting arrested." she chuckled as Kurusu paled slightly. "So, are you two banging or what?"

"NO!" Kurusu snapped.

"But you've thought about it," Smith grinned. "I mean, sure her bottom half is a snake's, but she's got great hips, huge boobs, and a pretty face. From what I've been hearing, she's totally into you too." Smith leaned in again, "And you are a total softie. Easy prey."

"Guh…" Kurusu blushed.

*WHIP-KRACK!*

"PRGH!" A heavy hit with the strike of a whip smashed into Kurusu's face, knocking him down with a swelling cheek while Smith blinked at what had happened. She looked to what had hit the poor host and saw that it had been Miia's tail. Following it, she saw that Miia had entered the room, the only thing protecting her modesty being a large shirt that her wet body was soaking through, giving some transparency.

"And just what do you think you're doing?!" Miia huffed, slithering across the room. She quickly scooped Kurusu up, apparently not noticing that she had practically K.O.-ed him. "I don't care if you are my coordinator Ms. Smith! Lay one finger on my Darling and I'll make you pay!"

' _I do not like the sound of that crack,'_ Smith thought, looking at how fiercely jealous Miia was over the agent's teasing of her Darling. The guy was having a tougher time than she realized. "Relax, I was just kidding." Smith's face did grow more serious, causing Miia and Kurusu to blink, "In all seriousness though, there is one thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"Eh?"

* * *

Brain was sitting at a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee. While Roidmudes like himself had no reason to eat or drink, Brain actually enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. It was the favorite beverage of the man whose image he had copied. He considered having a cup at a cafe while working to be intellectually stimulating, so he adopted the habit himself. While Brain disdained humans, he wouldn't say that they were entirely useless either if they could create such places.

His intellectual pursuit was halted when another person approached his table. He was dressed rather outlandishly, looking like he had stepped out of an American film with dusty pants, a tan shirt with a brown leather jacket. His face was shielded by a red bandanna and he had a cowboy's hat perched on his head. He looked the part of an American cowboy save for two features, one being the fact that he was clearly Asian with the shape of his eyes while the other was that instead of a gun on his hip, he had a whip instead.

"You called for me, Brain-sama?" he asked the green-clad Roidmude.

"That I did, Wire," Brain nodded. Operating on his tablet, he brought up what looked like a written report, "I find this proposal of yours to be interesting. You say it might be possible to evolve several Roidmudes at once through this method?"

"If my calculations are correct, then yes," Wire nodded. "The only details about this plan is that I need the proper equipment, and a place to broadcast. After that, everything should take care of itself."

Brain nodded, looking over calculations and examples, "It is a tempting target. Should it work, we will be able to push our plans ahead by a significant margin on the timeline."

"Yes, but I have one concern..." began Wire.

"You are referring to the Kamen Rider," Brain concluded. "No doubt he would interfere if he caught wind of this. Do not worry. Your plan will not be interrupted as he will be preoccupied."

"The Grim Reaper?"

"Indeed."

"Then I shall begin immediately," Wire nodded.

* * *

 **Kimihito Residence**

"A Liminal hunter?"

"Yes," Smith leaned back, sipping her coffee. Breakfast was in full swing and the agent was obviously eating heartily despite the seriousness of her news. "Just a while ago there were sightings of some guy in a red suit of armor fighting a bunch of Liminals and from all intents and purposes, looking like they were trying to kill each other."

"And you think this guy was hunting Liminals?" asked Kurusu, a stone sinking in his stomach.

"Either a specific breed or just Liminals in general," Smith nodded. "Although we aren't sure what kind of Liminal he hunts since we never saw the ones he was fighting before."

"So...what does that mean for us?" asked Miia. She likewise was feeling apprehension that the government was onto her Darling, but for the sake of her love she would keep his secret.

"Just keep an eye out for anybody suspicious," Smith replied. "Forewarned is forearmed and all that. If you do see this guy though, just run. Who knows what kind of crazy he is if he's running around in some kind of whacky suit.

' _Whacky suit?_ ' Kurusu felt his eye twitch at the description. Sure, the Drive Type Speed suit had a wheel across it, but that didn't make it whacky!

"Anyway, that's what I came to announce," Smith finished, gulping down the last of her (usurped) share of breakfast. Patting her tummy with glee, she stood up. "And seeing Miia-chan here in good health and happiness just makes my job that much easier! So I'll leave you two to your love nest." Then with a wave, she was gone.

"Gah!" Kurusu groaned, just knowing that Smith was teasing him directly. The giggles Miia elicited from the thought of her and Kurusu in a love nest just made the reasing effect worse. Sighing, he dropped his head, "It's too early for this."

"Eh heh," Miia giggled. "Oh don't be such a sourpuss Darling! It's perfectly natural for us to show off a little of our relationship so people can see."

"Relationship, right," Kurusu rubbed his face. Just what he had been warned _not_ to do when he got railroaded into the Homestay Program in the first place. If this kept up Smith might suspect something going on and really put the scrutiny on him, risking his identity as Drive. Just perfect…

"Still, I'm a little worried now," Miia admitted, prompting Kurusu to look up from his internal despair. "I mean, the police now know about you. Aren't you worried that they might try to arrest you if you fight Roidmudes in public again?"

"A little," Kurusu scratched his head. "But that was a risk I was willing to take when I first wore the armor. On the other hand, the Roidmudes will want to keep their heads down too since the government is keeping such a close eye on non-human events."

"I guess so," Miia nodded with a frown. "The Roidmudes wouldn't want people to get wise on what they do until it's too late, wouldn't they?"

"Exactly," Kurusu nodded. Further talk was interrupted by his watch beeping and he huffed when he saw the time. "Shoot. Okay, I have to get ready for work."

"Work?" Miia blinked as Kurusu stood up. "Oh, I didn't think you had a job Darling. I thought you were a student or something."

"Well, not yet," Kurusu admitted as he brought his dishes to the sink. "Not sure what I want to study so for spending money I intern at the Kurama Driver's License Center. Basically, when paperwork is filed, I send it to where it needs to go."

"Oh," Miia nodded. "Okay. Can I come?"

Kurusu stopped, "Uh…" Normally that wouldn't be a bad question and Kurusu liked to think his co-workers were professionals and dedicated to their jobs. On the other hand though, many of them were single and hadn't had a girlfriend in a while. Miia on the other hand was a total babe, even if she did have a snake body, and would garner a lot of attention. Not the pure kind either, "Um...how about I ask my boss and we'll see?"

"Okay!" Miia smiled. Internally, she was grinning as it would give her the chance to start trying to make packed lunches like she'd heard about in mangas. She especially wanted to try making love-love messages out of the food.

* * *

Kurusu came to a stop, parking the Tridoron outside the License Center. Stepping out, he was dressed in respectable slacks and a white button up shirt with a red tie. He was a little worried about just leaving Miia at home, but he knew that his grandfather would be able to keep an eye on her and be the voice of authority if it was needed. Despite being trapped inside a belt, it didn't take away from Krim's ability to do things. It just made it more challenging.

Walking through the front doors, Kurusu waved hello to some of the free tellers and they returned the gesture. He stepped through a door into an employee's only area, seeing some of his co-workers having some coffee as they waited for the paperwork they needed to file to come in.

"Morning everyone," Kurusu nodded to his friends.

"Hey, big bad vacation man," one of the men laughed. "Heard you took a few extra days off. What was the emergency?"

"Ah," Kurusu scratched his head again. "I got shanghaied into the Homestay Program. You know, letting a Liminal move into your house as an exchange student?"

"Really?" asked another co-worker with a grin. "So what'd you get? Is it a girl? Is she cute?"

Kurusu twitched at the 'what'd you get' comment and decided to tweak the guy a little, "She's a Lamia, her name is Miia, and she's one of the prettiest girls I've ever met."

"Ah man! Why's the kid get all the luck?!"

"Okay, enough chattering!" someone new spoke up, a middle-aged woman pushing a trolly of papers into their little cubbyhole. "First sets of paperwork that needs filing. Get to it!" as the group began to get up, the woman looked to Kurusu, "Kimihito-kun, you're being assigned elsewhere."

"Huh?" Kurusu blinked. "I am?"

"Yes," the woman nodded. "It seems our office space is being rented out by a group from the metropolitan PD. You're going to be filing their paperwork exclusively."

"Um…" Kurusu began, but then nodded in acceptance. "Okay. Where do I go then?"

"The closet office space," the woman answered, causing Kurusu to chuckle.

The Kurama Driving License Center was a relatively new building, only a few years old. As such, it worked on open space concepts so the people who went there for driving tests wouldn't feel confined and the people who worked there wouldn't feel so cramped together. However, there was one portion of office space which, compared to the rest of the offices, really did seem more like a closet or storage space. Regulations prevented anyone from using it as anything else but office space, but no one who worked there was all that interested in moving into it. The place was small, only had a few small windows, and kami forbid someone pass wind in there.

"Okay," Kurusu nodded, not envying the renters. "So who are these guys?"

"Well, officially they're called the Special Investigation Unit," Kurusu's superior explained. "Unofficially, they're the group of police officers who are a little too odd for the regular beat cops would go on."

"What?" Kurusu blinked.

"Well, with how all sorts of Liminals are trying to get used to human society and such? Sometimes there's friction and sometimes there are incidents," the woman explained.

"But don't they have the Mon Squad for that?" asked Kurusu, remembering once seeing a squad of Liminals who took care of Liminal crimes on the news.

"Yeah, but they're for serious situations," the woman answered. "The police force decided that they needed a better squad for investigating Liminal crimes that don't need the Mon Squad to take care of. Regular police work and that sort of thing."

"Okay…" Kurusu nodded. "So, why call them odd?"

"Because while the higher ups in the police force thought it was a good idea, a lot of the people in charge of supplying the unit with officers weren't as enthusiastic about it. Apparently not a lot of cops wanted to get involved in the political mess pursuing Liminal crimes would bring," Kurusu's superior explained.

That had Kurusu nodding. With the new laws prohibiting violence between Liminals and humans, there was still a lot of loopholes which could be exploited by either side. If human police officers did have to subdue a Liminal criminal, that crook could make all kinds of outrageous claims of abuse and end up making a political mess for the police involved as well as their superiors. Since a lot of the higher ups no doubt liked their jobs or had their eyes on promotions, they wouldn't want that happening to them. Too many cops that high up were more like politicians than policemen.

"So anyway, when a callout came for this unit, the commissioners didn't want to end up ruining themselves when these guys will eventually cause problems with Liminals so they sent the officers and experts who are known to cause trouble or are just plain weird in the first place and give them some plausible deniability," The woman shook her head. "So we have a new police unit which has top of the line funding, but manned by the quirkiest bunch of cops you'd have ever seen." She grinned at Kurusu, "And they want _you_ to be their intern. Lucky you."

"Eh heh he heh…" Kurusu chuckled weakly with a sweatdrop rolling down his head. "Well...I'll just...go report in then."

"May the gods be with you."

Kurusu nodded and set out for the side of the building which was away from the main offices of the License Center. Walking down a hallway, he quickly found a posting board with a badge-like logo declaring the next door to be the office of the Special Investigations Unit. Bracing himself to face weirdos, Kurusu stepped into the door and knocked on the side, "Hello?"

"Ah, our new intern! Come in, come in!"

Kurusu blinked, recognizing the voice. Stepping into the office, he found it had been quickly set up to allow maximum space with two desks on either side and another desk at the back of the room. Filing cabinets were placed at the sides, but the paperwork and such wasn't being allowed to pile up like it would in some small units. Also personal effects were around each desk. Naturally there were people at them, but Kurusu didn't notice them in favor of seeing the man at the desk in the far back, "Uncle Jun?!"

"Hey Kurusu-kun!" the older man sitting at the captain's desk smiled with a wave. He was an older man, just hitting his sixties, with gray/black hair which was slicked back professionally. He seemed quite energetic and happy-go-lucky for a police captain, but Kurusu couldn't remember him any other way. He wore a bright red tie on his white shirt and also wore a spring jacket with the emblem of the Special Investigation Unit on the front. "Looks like a bit of good luck did come my way. I knew wearing the red tie like my horoscope suggested was a good idea!"

"Buh...wuh...I can't believe this," Kurusu gasped, approaching his new boss. "I didn't know you were leading up a unit like this!"

"Ah, well, you can't expect this old man to be out of tricks yet!" Chief Jun Hongangi grinned, leaning back in his chair. "It's good to see you again Kurusu-kun."

Jun Hongangi and Kurusu had a bit of a history together. Jun and Krim had been colleagues together back in the day and often worked together on a number of projects. In his younger days, Kurusu had gotten to go to work with his grandfather and met the man, eventually calling him Uncle Jun. They had lost touch for a while after Krim 'died' and then Kurusu began focusing more on his education. He had no idea that Jun was leading up a Special Investigations Unit!

"Eh? The new gopher is the chief's nephew?" asked a man in a brown suit at another desk who looked quite bored.

"Oh, nothing like that," Jun waved it off. "Kurusu-kun's the grandson of an old friend of mine. When I heard he was working here, I just had to get him in on our work. Everyone, meet Kurusu Kimihito."

"Ah, so sneaky of you chief," a woman at another desk grinned. She had shoulder length brown hair and was in a word, cute. Cute as in, really damn cute. She wore a professional skirt and blouse, but over it she wore a white lab coat with her ID clipped on the front. "Getting your nephew in on the action as a career boost."

"Ah, nothing so serious like that. Just an old man wanting to get back in touch with his honorary nephew," Jun waved it off. "Anyway, let me introduce you to your new co-wrokers."

Jun gestured first to the woman that spoke who smiled and waved to Kurusu, making his blush a little, "This is Rinna Sawagami, our mechanic. Don't let her cute face fool you. She's a genius when it comes to machines."

"Hi~!" Rinna beamed, making Kurusu grin.

"Next to her is Kiriko Shijima," Jun continued gesturing to a woman with brown hair tied in a buna and also dressed impeccably as a female member of the police force. Her uniform didn't have a hair out of place. She was also filling out a number of papers, her handwriting as sharp and perfect as her appearance was. "She's our number one officer of the force, able to bring down the unruliest of crooks!"

"Hello," the serious woman nodded politely before she got back to work.

"And over here we have our resident network researcher, Kenta Imai," Jun introduced, gesturing to a man who looked like a total otaku, wearing casual clothed and thick black glasses who was tapping away at his computer. Still, he was friendly enough and stopped to greet Kurusu with a grin.

"Hi! Just call me Kyu Saijo," he smiled. "Everyone else does."

"Wait, the internet writer?" Kurusu blinked, causing Kyu to grin proudly.

"And lastly from the First Division, we have Genpachiro Otta," Jun gestured to the man in the brown suit.

"And the only one who gives this unit any bit of seriousness," Genpachiro huffed. "And it's Lieutenant Otta to you! Bad enough I have to spend time in this occult club when I could be investigating real crimes."

"Oh yeah?" Rinna grinned. "And what about all the crimes that could be committed by Liminals now? Some people say those could be magic."

"Bah!" Otta huffed. "Liminals are obviously real so they don't count as magical anymore!"

"That's just nitpicking!" Kyu frowned, almost pouting. "Since Liminals revealed themselves, there's whole worlds of research and investigation going on into old myths and stories told all over the world! Stories we called fantasy before could be really proven real!"

"An otaku's wonderland no doubt," Otta grumbled.

"Okay, okay, let's not cause trouble here," Jun spoke up. "It'll throw off the Feng Shui. Now that everyone's met Kurusu-kun, we can get back to work."

"Yes," Kiriko nodded finishing her paperwork. Leaning back behind her desk, she brought out a stack of papers. "I need these all filed. That's your job Kimihito-san."

"R-right," Kurusu nodded, rolling up his sleeves.

"Me too Kurusu-chan!" Rinna announced, lifting her own sizable stack up.

"Ditto," Kyu lifted another stack.

"Get to it gopher!" Otta ordered, lifting yet another stack.

Kurusu sweatdropped. Well, this was his job and he needed the money to pay for food so Miia could eat. The budget his parents gave him wouldn't cover him and Miia.

* * *

In the city itself, there were a range of stores that one could visit for whatever they needed. One in particular was an electronic supply store. It didn't really stand out. It had sales and a wide range of wares for sale. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really seem all that unique compared to the flashier and department chain stores which existed elsewhere. However, it was in a convenient spot and with the diverse supply, they managed to get a fair bit of business.

Now that convenience was about to bite the employees of that particular store in the ass.

*SHOOM!*

The entire store suddenly began moving in slow motion, the customers and staff unable to move. Several began to panic as they tried to understand what was happening to them. That was when the door to the store opened and three men walked inside, entirely unaffected by the strange phenomenon going on around them. They were pretty generic, nothing about them standing out. If they walked into a crowd, it would be a simple thing to lose them unless one was paying close attention to them.

Seeing people unaffected by the strange event caused the witnesses to correctly believe they were responsible for it. They were immediately afraid that they were going to be attacked by the men, but those fears proved to be false. Rather than try to harm the people slowly panicking, the three men merely grabbed shopping baskets before they began going through the aisles. They scooped up a large number of equipment, cables, and even smashed open a display or two to pick up some high-performance laptops.

Filling up on their desires, the three men exited the way they came. Once they were gone, the slowdown effect vanished, allowing the people to return to their normal speeds. Many of them panicked and moved to get as far away from the area as they could. One of the braver employees dared to glimpse outside to see if the thieves were still around. Seeing th ethree were gone, he looked to one of his co-workers who was deeper in the store.

"Call the police!"

* * *

"How did I get roped into this?" Kurusu asked aloud.

The call had come to the Special Investigations Unit on a Slowdown, a time in which all things just seemed to slow down. During which, the victims, when they came out of it, reported that three men had entered the store a stole a bunch of merchandise. Considering the supernatural event, it immediately went to the Special Investigations Unit and Jun immediately set Genpachiro, Kiriko, and Kurusu on it.

"We're the only field officers the unit has Kimihito-san," Kiriko reminded him as they examined the inside of the store. "And the field experience will do you good."

"But I'm not even a police officer," Kurusu tried to argue.

"With us, you are, so no complaining!" Kiriko retorted sternly, lifting her handcuffs in a threatening gesture.

Kurusu gulped and got back to work. Kiriko was definitely a severe woman and crossing her was just a bad idea overall. She wasnt' shy in using those cuffs to detain someone who got out of hand. She did it to Genpachiro enough times when he and Kyu began getting into arguments over the validity of myths and legends.

To be honest, Kurusu was glad to be out in the field working the scene. He could tell from the initial reports that it was a Roidmude that had done the robbery. The chance to actually investigate it firsthand instead of waiting for his grandfather to download the reports was going to make hunting the Roidmudes much easier than before. His only _real_ complaint...

"But do we have to do it wearing these?" Kurusu asked, feeling absolutely ridiculous. Strapped to his back was a cybernetic backpack-like device which connected to a vaccum cleaner/metal detector-like attachment in his hand. Strapped to his head was a collander-like helmet that had a small eyepiece attachment covering one of his eyes. It frankly looked weird and more like Kurusu and Kiriko were trying to cosplay as some kind of character rather than investigate a crime.A few of the spectoators outside had laughed at them when they strapped on the equipment which just brought Kurusu's ego down even more.

"This is specialty equipment invented by Rinna-san," Kiriko answered, slowly passing her own device over the shelves where merchandise had been stolen. "It senses Slowdown particles. If we can get a sample of them here, these devices will allow us to possibly pick up on the trail of the thieves."

"Oh," Kurusu sighed. "Well, so long as there's a reason for it…"

As the duo continued their scans, Genpachiro was interviewing a staff member who had been present when the robbery happened, "Okay, so just what exactly happened? The Slowdown happened and then what?"

"Well, a bunch of guys came in and began taking stuff," the clerk shrugged. "I can't say they stood out too much. I couldn't really see their faces and they dressed like anyone on the street would. They were so average it was kind of weird."

"Average, right," Genpachiro nodded, diligently taking notes. He may not have believed in monsters and supernatural nonsense, Liminals notwithstanding, but he was a police officer and he would always do his job right. "So what did they take?"

"Well, we did a count and they didn't take a whole lot," the clerk shrugged. "A few laptops, routers, and connection cables. They didn't even get the really expensive ones you'd figure would be on some black market. They just grabbed the ones which would ge tthe job done best and left."

"So they were here for equipment, not money?" asked Genpachiro.

"Didn't even touch the registers," the clerk shook his head. "Came in, took what they needed, and then left again. I think they plan to use that stuff for something instead of selling it for cash."

Genpachiro frowned, "Hey, I'm the detective here. I'll do the deductions," He dismissed the clerk and tucked away his notebook. Walking over to where Kiriko and Kurusu were working, he couldn't help but snicker at how ridiculous they looked, but supressed it for the sake of professionalism, "Looks like these guys were aiming for equipment to use, not some quick cash."

"Hm. Strange," Kiriko pondered. "Our readings are showing Slowdown particles all over, but they're all over the place. So it proves there was more than one. We should begin scanning outside and see if there's a trail."

"Yeah, you two do that," Genpachiro nodded, not believing their methods would uncover anything.

Kiriko pulled Kurusu outside who was sure he heard some of the people watching the investigation chuckle at their getups. She quickly pointed to the left, "You scan that way. I will go this way. If you see anything suspicious then come back and inform me. You aren't a policeman, remember that."

"R-right," Kurusu nodded.

Setting on the trail, Kurusu kept his metal detector going, looking for the particles which would reveal where the Roidmudes had come from. A Slowdown did leave a unique signature, but it wasn't like a trail of breadcrumbs. Once the Roidmudes shut down their powers, th etrail would end. At best, it would just tell Kurusu which direction they came to the store from.

"Okay you guys, which way did you come from?" Kurusu frowned, looking at his readouts. Walking past an alley, he stopped when the signal cut out, indicating that there were no more particles. Looking around, Kurusu sighed, "Okay, you guys came in from here. But which way did you _go_?"

* _Wee-ooo wee-ooo!_ *

"Huh?" Kurusu blinked, hearing...a miniature siren? Looking down, his eyes widened when he spotted a small police car driving towards him with its lights flashing. "Ah, Justice Hunter! I didn't know you were back in town!" He kneeled down and scooped up the tiny car, letting it rest flat in his palm. "What are you doing here?"

* _Beep-beep!_ *

"Oh, you completed your investigation and were on your way back when you heard the call for officers to investigate here," Kurusu nodded. Like his grandfather, he was fluent in the language of the Shift Cars. It was part road sign, part gestures, and the tone in their personal car noises. Justice Hunter was just one of the easier ones to understand. "Well, glad to have you on the case. Did you discover anything yet?"

* _Wee-ooo! Beep!_ *

"You've picked up the trail?" Kurusu blinked, but then his feature turned stern. "Okay. Lead the way. Let's nip this in the bud before it gets worse."

Hunter spun around and drove off Kurusu's hand, generating a tiny highway as it drove through the air. Kurusu jogged after the tiny machine, prepping himself for a fight. As he followed Hunter, he quickly pulled out his phone and began typing a hasty message.

* * *

 **Kimihito Residence**

"La, la, la-la," Miia hummed as she sifted through her belongings, looking for her next outfit which she would try to get her Darling hot and bothered over. "Hmm, should I go with the sarong like at home or maybe something more modern? Or maybe I should go for something out of that cosplay stuff? Would Darling like that?"

It was definitely a good question as far as Miia was concerned. Her Darling was off earning a living and risking his neck to fight against the Roidmudes. So that left it up to her to make sure that he came home to a warm and relaxing atmosphere. Therefore, as far as Miia was concerned, there was nothing more relaxing than coming home to a sexy wife who would tend to your aching body. And if it managed to get Kurusu more into her, well, Miia couldn't be faulted for his good taste.

"Miia-chan, I'm heading out," Krim's voice eched from the hallway. "Kurusu and I should be back later."

"Okay. Give Darling my love," Miia smiled, still working on her next outfit.

Krim gave no indication if he heard and soon, the squealing tires of the Tridoron echoed before the red car could be seen racing down the streets. Miia was preparing another top when she blinked, "Wait, Mr. Belt and Darling together? Another Rodimude?!"

Miia whirled around and slithered out of the room, grinning as she realized this was her chance. With Kurusu coming home no doubt tired but excited over his victory, his adrenaline would be through the roof, making for a perfect opportunity to advance their relationship!

"And now, for the hearty dinner!" Miia grinned, heading for the kitchen.

* * *

Kurusu followed Hunter through several alleyways before coming to what looked like a basketball court several blocks away from the crime scene. Coming to the area, Kurusu hid behind a corner to see what he was dealing with. Near the benches in one corner were three men, rather plain-looking as they had what was obviously a horde of computer equipment with them. Funnily enough, it seemed that the trio were struggling to try and figure out how to set it all up.

"Oh come on!" one of them cried. "We're super-advanced robots aren't we? Can't we figure out a little laptop like these ones?"

"Don't look at me," another retorted. "I didn't think tech was interesting since I AM tech!"

"Ditto," nodded the third. "I prefer sports."

' _I don't know if I should find this funny or sad,_ ' Kurusu thought to himself.

"You all are idiots," a new voice spoke. Coming into the court from another entrance was a man dressed quite similar to a cowboy, save for the fact he held a whip. Kurusu's eyes narrowed at the man, positive he had seen the cowboy before. "How do you expect to evolve with attitudes like that?"

"Whatever," one of the trio grumped. "If you're so smart then you can do it!"

"Very well," the cowboy nodded before he became engulfed in pixels. With a flash of the numbers 071 flashing in the middle of it all, the man came out as an Evolved Roidmude.

His torso looked like a copy of the human body of muscle, although instead of muscle tissue, wires were instead used. From his collarbone area, two thick ropes of cords emerged and hung over his shoulders before coiling down his arms, ending in wire-like whips which Kurusu remembered sparked with electricity when they struck something. His hands ended in metal gauntlets which resembled a basic Roidmude's hands, but without the gun barrel gauntlets. It's legs were much the same, wire-like muscles with Roidmude feet. It's head was hard to determine since it's entire cranium was covered in thick wires which copied hair in the form of dreadlocks and hung down to the base of its neck.

"Not this guy again," Kurusu grimaced.

He'd fought the Wire Roidmude early as Drive, back while he was still getting used to it all. The Roidmude had beaten him black and blue with a few electrical burns for good measure. He'd managed to destroy the Wire Roidmude's body, but in his eagerness to play Kamen Rider, Kurusu hadn't listened when Krim tried to tell him about the Roidmude Cores and didn't destroy it. Thus the Wire Roidmude got away to live another day. Krim had given him a stern talking to for letting that happen.

Wire flicked one of his whips and the tip connected to the laptop with a click. For a moment, the screen flickered as data raced across the surface, it's purpose unknown. For several moments, Kurusu tried to hear or see what the Roidmudes were up to. However, that was when the screen of the laptop changed to a camera feed...one which was looking right down at Kurusu.

"Oh, we have a little spy!" Wire looked up, gazing right at Kurusu. The other three Roidmudes grunted and looked in the same direction. Wire disconnected from the computer and faced Kurusu directly, "Ah, if it isn't the little Kamen Rider too."

"What?!" the three Roidmudes gasped.

Seeing he was busted, Kurusu shed his detection gear and stepped out to face the four. He looked calm and collected, but he was already sweating on the inside wondering where Krim was. "It's been a while, Roidmude 071. Wire, right?"

"Ah, so you do remember me," Wire chuckled. "You've finally stopped goofing up on the job, or so I hear."

"That won't happen this time," Kurusu retorted.

"I'm sure," Wire nodded. "Well, I have things to do and have no time to play with you, Kamen Rider." he closed the laptop and packed up the bags. "My three lackeys will keep you entertained though. If you can keep from goofing up with them, I may find it worth my while to entertain you."

Wire lashed out with one of his whips, catching the edge of a rooftop before he hoisted himself up and over, vanishing from sight. The three remaining Roidmudes, knowing their orders, got up and began to advance on Kurusu. Their bodies flashed with pixels before taking on their true Roidmude forms, in this case being two Spider-types and one Cobra-type.

"Great," Kurusu grimaced, tensing up.

*VROOOM!*

The staredown was cut off as the Tridoron drove up to the court, ending up in a parking lot. Kurusu immediately saw his chance and dashed for the machine. The three Roidmudes attempted to follow, but the Tridoron let off a blast from it's headlights, knocking all three of the machines away.

Kurusu quickly reached the door and opened it, finding Krim in his station, "Great timing Grandpa!"

"Of course," Krim grinned before Kurusu removed him and exited the car. "Ready Kurusu?"

"Oh yeah!" Kurusu nodded, wrapping the Drive Driver around his waist. Once it was secure, he turned the Advanced Ignition Key.

" **START YOU ENGINE!** "

"Henshin!"

" **DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!** "

A flash of red and the racecar-like armor formed over Kurusu, transforming him into Drive. Flexing his fists, he stared down the recovering Roidmudes, "Kamen Rider Drive, let me take you for a ride."

The three Roidmudes weren't impressed as they charged for Drive. The Kamen RIder acted fast and blocked the first blow before kicking that Roidmude away. The other two came in as a pair, shoulder checking him to try and lnock him back. Drive grunted, but only skidded back a few inches. Grunting, h e smashed his elbow into one Roidmude's head, causing it to grunt before he slugged it across the face. He then grabbed the shoulder of the other before a push spun it around and he knocked it away.

The Roidmudes recovered as Drive charged at them, but rather than charge back they instead pointed their hands at him. Shots rang out from their fingertips, causing Drive to cry out with pai nas he stumbled back while the bullets struck him.

"Eugh," Drive grunted. No matte rhow many times he'd suffered it, being shot by the Roidmudes still hurt! "Fine, going to need Justice then! Let's-!"

*Vrooom! Hiss!*

Drive was interupted as from behind the three Roidmudes were attacked from behind by something. They droped or strumbled away, grasping at their backs with cries of pain. Sparks flew from several more impacts as they shouted out in cofusion and pain over what was attacking them. Frankly, Drive was a little confused as well until he noticed something small in the chaos. From the writhing Roidmudes, another Shift Car came zooming up to Kurusu at high speeds.

"Viper?" Drive blinked, recognizing the newest Shift Car on his team. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be undergoing tests."

* _Vroom! Vroom!_ *

"You followed Grandpa because you figured I was in trouble," Drive shook his head.

"Well, look at it this way Kurusu. With Viper here we can collect more field data," Krim offered.

"I guess," Drive huffed before he plucked up Viper, causing the Shift Car to hiss in delight. Bringing up his Drive Brace, he removed the Type Speed and insterted Viper. "Well, might as well roll with it."

" **TIRE KOUKAN! STRIKING VIPER!** "

The tire bounced into the court and slammed into Drive, locking into place with a hiss as the eyes of the serpent flared an emerald green.

"Don't think that scares us!" shouted the Cobra-Type Roidmude. "I'm a snake too you know!"

"Well then, let's get along!" Drive retorted, charging for the three.

Drive met the three as one of the Roidmudes swung at him. Thanks to his enhanced reflexes, Drive ducked under the blow before striking two blows in the vulnerable underside. A sizable blast of sparks came from the impact, causing the Roidmude to scream and stumble away. The second attacker came for his strike from behind, but Drive noticed him and kicked backwards to stun him before a roundhouse kick across the face knocked him flat onto his black with a blast of sparks. The final Roidmude attempted to merely shoot at Drive from a distance. He got a few shots in, knocking Drive back before the Kamen Rider got his senses back. With Striking Viper's reflexes, he managed to see the path of the bullets and dodge them, not from sheer speed, but just from sharper reflexes. Charging at his attacjer. Driver dodged several more shots before unleashing a combo of punches which knocked the Spider-Type Roidmude back in a heap.

"Testing time!" Drive called, hitting the decisive switch on his Drive Brace.

" **HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE! STRIKING VIPER!** "

The tire spun and unleashed the giant snake which made up the tire. The Roidmude cried out as the serpent towered above it with a menacing hiss. It swiftly lunged for the Roidmude, but instead of attacking with it's fangs, it wrapped the end of its tail around it, pinning it in place.

Drive saw his cue and dashed for the snake's tail. A short jump and he was on it's treadmarked back. A flash of red brought two pillars of red tires to either side that roared to life in high speeds. Drive was immediately launched through them where he followed the snake's back like a roller coaster track. More tires appeared, keeping his speed up until he reached the head of the snake which towered above the Roidmude where he leaped off. The snake them launched a strike, impacting Drive's back who came down in a high speed flying kick, crashing against the Roidmude before it let out a scream and went up in an explosion.

The flames were quick to die as Drive stood up. Behind him, the viper let out a hiss before diving back into Drive's armor, becoming the Striking Viper Tire again. In front of Drive, a warbling Roidmude Core numbered 012 wobbled in the air before exploding, ending that particular machine once and for all.

"012!" cried the other Spider-type Roidmude.

"You bastard!" shouted the Cobra-type.

Drive let out a breath before he turned to face the two remaining Roidmudes. Both machines flinched and looked like they were ready to keep fighting. Drive clenched his fists and prepared to likewise do the same.

" **GUN!** "

Several shots suddenly rang through the air, impacting Drive, eliciting a cry of pain before he fell over clutching his torso. The two Roidmudes stopped, surprised at the intervention and turned to see who had come to their aid. Drive likewise managed to look up to see who had attacked him.

At the entry to the basketball court and standing next to a dark purple motorcycle which was painted with silver skull images was the new arrival. He was dressed in purple leather biking gear and in his hand was a purple handgun-type device which was styled similarly to a brake handle. His features were stern and wished nothing but harm on Drive.

"Who…?" Drive grunted, getting to his knees.

"Oh crap! It's the Shinigami!" cried the Spider-Type Roidmude.

"Run!" suggested the Cobra-Type. Both Roidmudes quickly ran towards the nearest alley like their rears were on fire. The mysterious biker didn't bat an eye as he kept his gaze, and his weapon, trained on Drive.

"Kamen Rider," he spoke, walking towards the basketball court. "Once again you've destroyed one of the Roidmudes and ended their lives. That is a crime which must be punished."

"What?" Drive asked, standing up. "Punished? I don't even know who you are!"

The man stepped into the basketball court, weapons till raised, "I am called Chase, the one who protects the Roidmudes."

"Protects the-?!" Krim gasped.

"Huh?!" Drive gasped.

Chase didn't respond further but instead drew back his pistol, the Break Gunner, before he pressed the barrel of it against his palm.

" **BREAK UP!** "

Chase was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of purple as pieces of armor appeared in purple wireframe before attaching to his body not unlike how Drive would transform. Once it was finished, a new being stood in front of Drive.

At first glance, he appeared to be the combination of a robot and the purple motorcycle in a high speed crash. The torso armor was purple, but almost random in its placement, barely looking like real armor. The shoulder plate held the silver skull image from the motorcycle. On his back a tire was mounted, one fit more for a motorcycle than a car with silver piping strewn on his body. His arms and the rest of his body was black metal on a bodysuit accented with bits of purple metal, but with no belt. Lastly his head was composed of silver components, looking like an engine block. It should have had two eyes, but one was covered by black components while the other as an orange disk.

"I am also called Mashin Chaser," the machine-man introduced. "The one Roidmudes call the Shinigami!"

"HUH?!" Drive gaped, backing away from his new opponent.

"I don't believe it!" Krim gasped. The armor, the style of transformation, he could recognize his designs in it as clear as day! He'd only built one system before Drive and it had been lost during the Global Freeze, hadn't it? "Did...did the Roidmudes salvage the Proto-Drive system?!"

"Now I will punish you for the murders of two Roidmudes, and the attempted murder of many more!" Mashin Chaser bellowed, charging for Drive with his weapons raised.

"Woah! Wait a second!" Drive cried out.

* **BANG! BANG! BANG!** *

To Be Continued...

 **A/N: Well, Drive is in trouble now since Mashin Chaser is on his tail. The protector of the Roidmudes isn't going to let him go without a fight. Also, just what is it that Wire is planning with his fellow Roidmudes? If it works, it could speed up the evolution process by a significant amount. That can't be allowed lest another Global Freeze happens!**


End file.
